## 4 Results and Discussion
### Developed Countries vs. Developing Countries  
Attitudes towards the constraints and benefits of implementing FSMS standards before and after implementation in developed and developing countries are presented in Figure 6a-c. After implementation, there was a significant increase in the percentage of companies that have implemented the international FSMS both in developed (16.7% to 63.9%) and developing countries (26.6% to 48.1%). Certification has also increased from 34.2% to 59.6% in the total sample, namely from 33.3% to 61.1% in developed countries and from 34.6% to 59.0% in developing countries. The increase in ISO 22000 implementation from 34.2% to 46.8% in the total sample presented a more significant increase for developing countries (35.5% to 48.7%, \(p\) = 0.008). Only developed countries presented a significant increase in SQF implementation (5.7% to 22.9%, \(p\) = 0.014) and only developing countries presented a significant increase in Food Standard Agency implementation (17.1% to 27.6%, \(p\) = 0.005). All companies have increased the rate of change or upgrade of FSMS standards (51.4% to 75.7%, \(p\) < 0.001). The implementation of quality standards increased from 51.4% to 78.9% (\(p\) < 0.001), the implementation of the earlier version of FSMS from 34.2% to 52.3% (\(p\) < 0.001) and the implementation of GFSI from 9.5% to 46.7% (\(p\) < 0.001). There was also an increase for all companies both in State (59.8% to 64.3%, \(p\) = 0.025) and Federal (33.9% to 38.4%, \(p\) = 0.025) Regulatory Agencies Inspections. There was a significant increase in medium vs. small company size (57.1% to 62.3%, \(p\) = 0.046), only in developing countries, while a smaller, non-significant shift was also detected in developed countries (41.2% to 44.1%, \(p\) > 0.05). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **Total Sample (N = 116)** & **Developed (N = 36)** & **Developing (N = 80)** \\ \hline  & **N** & **\%** & **N** & **\%** & **N** & **\%** \\ \hline Canning/Bottling/Packaging & 6 & 5.2 & 2 & 5.6 & 4 & 5.0 \\ \hline Coffee/Condiments/Sugar & 8 & 6.9 & 0 & 0.0 & 8 & 10.0 \\ \hline Dairy & 11 & 9.5 & 3 & 8.3 & 8 & 10.0 \\ \hline Services (Education, sanitary, transport, storage etc.) & 7 & 6 & 2 & 5.6 & 5 & 6.3 \\ \hline Food service & 11 & 9.5 & 6 & 16.7 & 5 & 6.3 \\ \hline Fruit.Veg-Processed & 16 & 13.8 & 5 & 13.9 & 11 & 13.8 \\ \hline Ingredients & 11 & 9.5 & 0 & 0.0 & 11 & 13.8 \\ \hline Meat & 8 & 6.9 & 3 & 8.30 & 5 & 6.3 \\ \hline Snacks.BakedGoods & 14 & 12.1 & 4 & 11.1 & 10 & 12.5 \\ \hline Other & 13 & 11.2 & 7 & 19.4 & 6 & 7.5 \\ \hline _Countries_ & & & & & & \\ \hline Africa (Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa) & 24 & 20.7 & 0 & 0.0 & 24 & 30.0 \\ \hline UK and Australia & 7 & 6.0 & 7 & 19.4 & 0 & 0.0 \\ \hline Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad) & 16 & 13.8 & 0 & 0.0 & 16 & 20.0 \\ \hline North America (USA, Canada) & 12 & 10.3 & 12 & 33.3 & 0 & 0.0 \\ \hline South Asia (India) & 16 & 13.8 & 0 & 0.0 & 16 & 20.0 \\ \hline Other South Asia (Iran, Pakistan) & 10 & 8.6 & 0 & 0.0 & 10 & 12.5 \\ \hline East and West Asia (Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Jordan, UAE) & 17 & 14.7 & 7 & 19.4 & 10 & 12.5 \\ \hline Europe & 14 & 12.1 & 10 & 27.8 & 4 & 5.0 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: _Cont._Figure 6: _Cont._  
Food safety culture and manager leadership implementation were increased to over 80% after FSMS implementation in both developed and developing countries (\(p<0.001\)). Training, resources, and technology adequacy were also increased in all companies (\(p<0.001\)). Production yield adequacy remained at the same level (78.5% to 79.4%) before and after FSMS implementation. Findings are in agreement with the study of [PERSON] et al. [72], who indicated that mandatory and voluntary regulations and standards play a pivotal role in global food chains by ensuring comprehensive, forward-looking strategies that prioritize risk management and ongoing enhancement within the Food Safety Management System (FSMS).