The importance of food control for retail development – evidence using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system approach

Abstract

Retail and retail development have become increasingly important in the economies of a number of countries in recent years. Given that retail chains are in direct contact with consumers, food retail control is important for both consumers and retailers. Additionally, food control is an important business segment of all companies involved in the food distribution chain, from food production, processing, storage, and sales to end consumers. On the one hand, the right to healthy and safe products is one of the basic consumer rights. On the other hand, retail chains tend to deliver healthy and safe products to consumers, using the principle of efficiency and positive business performance. In line with the above, i.e. food retailers’ challenge to satisfy consumer demands for healthy and safe products, but also to achieve positive business performance, the aim of this paper is to analyse the importance of food control for retail development, with particular reference to the market of the Republic of Serbia. For this purpose, empirical research is carried out on a sample of 169 food retailers. Using the available financial data, as well as data obtained from field research, the paper tests hypothesis on the impact of food control, as measured by the percentage allocation for the introduction of food safety standards, on food retail performance. The ANFIS method is used, and the results show positive impact of food control on food retail development in the Republic of Serbia.