## 4 Results and Discussion
### Differences per Geographical Region before and after FSMS Implementation  
The differences before and after FSMS implementation for companies from different geographical regions of developed and developing countries are presented in Figure 7. UK and Australian companies did not present any significant shift in the application and attitudes toward FSMS standards; thus, they are not presented here. European companies reported significant increases in changes/upgrades of the FSMS standards, application of Quality standards, GFSI implementations, Food safety culture and manager leadership applications, multi-FSMS, Sustainability, waste reduction programs, crisis management, food defense, and food fraud systems integration. Also, significant increases in GMP, GHP and Equipment design prerequisites application, as well as all HACCP systems, were detected in European companies. North American companies (US and Canada) indicated a significant increase in the implementation of International FSMS, Certification and SQF integration, changes which were not detected in Europe. Quality standards and GFSI integration were also increased for the North American sample, as well as Food safety culture, Manager leadership, Training, KPI, Workers' training, Sustainability, Traceability and Crisis Management. Moreover, prerequisites and HACCP implementations have increased to 80-100% after FSMS implementation in US and Canadian companies. African companies reported significant increases in certification, changes/upgrades of the FSMS standards, application of Quality standards, GFSI implementations, Food safety culture, and manager leadership applications, adequacy of Training and Resources, KPI implementation, Waste reduction programs, Traceability, Crisis management, food defense, and food fraud systems integration, as well as food security adequacy. Also, significant increases in prerequisites and HACCP systems application were reported in African companies. Similar trends were reported in Latin American countries. For Indian companies, on the other hand, international FSMS application and certification have presented a significant increase, larger than the ones reported for African or Latin American companies and similar to the levels of companies from developed countries. Yet, Indian companies presented high rates of most prerequisites and HACCP applications, even before FSMS integration, and significant increases were detected in SSOP, Site design, Equipment design prerequisites as well as HACCP Microbiological criteria and PIC that had lower integration rates before FSMS implementation. Other companies in South Asia (Iran, Pakistan) presented similar differences to Indian companies, apart from HACCP integration which increased from 30-50% before to approximately 90% of companies after FSMS implementation. Findings are aligned with the study by [PERSON] et al. [77], who explored the use of quality management tools for identifying and prioritizing challenges faced by small food establishments during the adoption of preventive controls mandated by the FSMA legislation. European private food safety standards exert considerable influence on global food and agricultural supply chains. They act as the link between consumer expectations and producers to bring the safety standards of exporting countries to par with, and sometimes well above, EU legislation, as reported by [PERSON] et al. [78]. Private standards also allow the retail sector to govern agri-food supply chains from a distance, without taking on additional legal or financial obligations. The most observable effects of private food safety standards are characterized by changes in governance patterns, supply chain structures, access to international markets, and increasing demands with respect to non-safety attributes of food products.