Food safety – Assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and /or eaten according to its intended use. Food safety refers to practices, standards and activities that are required to protect consumers from harm.
Anyone/everyone working in food production (agriculture), handling (storage and transportation) and processing has to become extra vigilant on food safety aspects in order to ensure that the quality products are consistently produced.
Culture – an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Simply put is the “way of doing things”
Food safety culture – a reflection of the importance of food safety to the leadership. An organization with a strong Food Safety culture demonstrates to its staff, customers and all stakeholders that delivering safe food is an essential commitment
Why safe food?
Contamination – The introduction or occurrence of a contaminant (hazard) in a food or food environment
The main chemical hazards in food products are:
Cleaning chemicals
Pesticides
Allergens
Aflatoxins
Toxic metals – lead, mercury etc
Plasticizers and packaging migration
Chemical additives
Aflatoxins Mitigation
What are aflatoxins? Can aflatoxins be eliminated?
- Aflatoxins are among the most potent toxins and cancer-causing agents.
- Contamination is mainly by fungus – Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, – during pre-harvest and post-harvest storage, often affecting maize, groundnuts, sorghum, other cereal grains, animal feedstuff such as cotton seed cake, macadamia nuts and spices.
- The molds infect the crop pre-harvest and post-harvest and can produce toxins (referred to as aflatoxins) when moisture and temperature conditions are right.
- Once produced, the toxins remain in the crop for the subsequent parts of the value chain. Aflatoxins persist in foods and are resistant to almost all food processing procedures including cooking and roasting.
- The complete elimination of aflatoxins contaminated commodities is not achievable at this time (Codex Alimentarius Commission).
- Humans are exposed to aflatoxin mainly through consumption of contaminated agricultural products or animal products such as meat, eggs, poultry, and milk.
General principles in prevention and reduction of aflatoxins contamination in food and feed.
- Negative impact of climate change
- General Code of Practice by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
- Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) followed by Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)
- HACCP
The role of the Government, Private Sector and the Consumer in aflatoxin mitigation?
- Government: enabling environment, setting of regulatory standards and implementation
- Private Sector: primary responsibility to food safety
- Consumer: good food handling and storage practices, read and follow manufacturer’s labeling guidance on product storage and use.
USAID Activities on Aflatoxin Mitigation
- The EAC 11 technical papers on aflatoxins and the 9 Policy Briefs on Aflatoxin Prevention and Control
https://www.eac.int/documents/category/aflatoxin-prevention-and-control
- COMPETE, EATIH, TMEA, and the Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (SATIH)
- Economic Reform and Recovery Activity (ERRA)
- Kenya Crop and Dairy Market Systems (KCDMS) Activity
- Strengthening Competitiveness in Regional Agricultural Trade – Policy Link
- And other upcoming activities – e.g. ATI
Pest control & pesticide residues
- Understanding Pests and Pesticide Residues
- Definition & Description Pests and Pesticide / Residues
- Pest Control Program (Based on Integrated Pest Management)
- Principles of Pest Control – IPM
- Identification of pests and sources
- Inspection
- Sanitation – Food Sources, Habitat, Protection
- Monitoring/trapping
- Exclusion
- Pesticides – Approved Pesticides
- Mode of application (Fumigation, Spraying, Baiting)
- Read the label for instructions of use
- Understand withdrawal period
- Communication – Educate employees
Impact on Food Safety and the business
- Spread microorganisms, diseases, cause illness of consumers..
- A source of contamination
- Damage Equipment (Food containers), packaging materials, Food ingredients walls etc
- Damage company reputation
- Loss of Customers
- Prosecution and closure of business
Benefits
- Avoid Legal/statutory/legislative penalties
- Reduced or No recall of products
- Reduced customer complaints
HACCP
HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.- (FAO)
1960’s – NASA and Pilsbury Company first HACCP (3 principles only)
1971 – HACCP Present at the first National Food Safety Conference
1983 – WHO EUROPE recommends HACCP
1993 – National Advisory Committee on Microbiology – revises HACCP to 7 principles
1994 – International HACCP Alliance was formed
1994 – Safe and Quality Foods was launched
1996 – CODEX issues first Guidelines for HACCP annex to GHP standards
1998 – BRC launched incorporating HACCP
2000 – Global Food Safety Initiative launched – benchmarking standards
2003 – International Food Standard (IFS) formed
2005 – International Standards Organization – ISO22000 launched
2016 – EAS HACCP 2000 adopted for East Africa.
2020 – CODEX 4th revision of GHP with HACCP and additional practices
Benefits of Food Safety
- Saves your business money in the long run
- Avoids you poisoning your customers
- Food safety standards increase
- Ensures you are compliant with the law
- Food quality standards increase
- Organises your process to produce safe food
- Organises your staff promoting teamwork and efficiency
- Due diligence defence in court.
Continuous Improvement
- Plan (designing)
Establish objectives and processes required to deliver the desired results.
- Do (implementing)
Carry out the objectives from the previous step.
- Check (monitoring)
During the check phase, the data and results gathered from the do phase are evaluated.
- Act (reviewing)
Also called “Adjust”, this act phase is where a process is improved. Records from the “do” and “check” phases help identify issues with the process.
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