The failure of food processing companies in the country to adhere to international food safety and quality standards is a barrier to their dream of trading on the global market, Tawiah Adjei, a Food Safety Consultant, has observed.
“Our local legislations governing food safety and quality are too liberal; enforcement of these weak laws also leaves much to be desired. Certain practices which are basic requirements to establish food processing plants in some jurisdictions are not even adhered to in Ghana, hence our factories’ inability to compete with their foreign peers on the international market,” he said.
He also noted that many food processing company owners are hesitant to invest in the implementation of food safety and quality standard mechanisms, such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).
For processors to be able to break into the wide international market and also maintain their local market share, it is important for them to observe the required standards, he added.
Mr. Adjei made these remarks in an interview on the sidelines at Awisa near Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, during a training workshop for staff of Kona Agro Processing Limited — a cashew processing factory.
The three-day food safety training was sponsored by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training-Skills Development Fund (COTVET-SDF).
The participants were taken through the principles of HACCP to help them be abreast with international food safety and quality standards to boost exports of the company.
Some of the specifics that the participants learnt include buying and storing of cashew nuts; testing and sieving; steaming and shelling; sorting drying, peeling and pre-grading. Other areas of study covered packaging finished products, storage and dispatching.
The Food Safety Consultant who facilitated the training workshop urged food processing companies to observe basic safety practices like personal hygiene, establishment of a changing room, provision of proper clothing to workers, cleaning and fumigation processes among others.
He stressed the need for regulatory authorities, and for that matter government, to ensure food processing factories abide by all relevant statutory safety requirements so as to raise the bar of food processing in the country.
Assistant Processing Manager-Kona Agro Processing Limited, Henry Osabutey, said the training will go a long way to enhance their technical know-how about modern and international food safety practices.
“Until this training, we were ignorant about so many practices which were contrary to international standards. We now know what constitutes food contamination in all stages of production.”
Although the company has since July 2014 halted operations largely because of non-availability of raw cashew nuts, Mr. Osabutey was optimistic that workers of the company will be very efficient should operations resume in the near-future.