Demystifying Food Safety Implementation by SMEs Using Innovative Cohort Factory Visits and 15Action-Oriented Steps to HACCP Certification

Introduction

According to FAO and WHO, food safety is the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared or eaten according to its intended use [2]. But, my own definition of food safety to a lay person is simply “food safety is the accidental contamination of food resulting in food-borne diseases”. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point is the most reliable and recognized scientific method of food safety assurance in the food industry [3].The application of HACCP system is rapidly progressing, particularly in large and medium scale food industries. The term is becoming well known in National regulatory food control and Public health circles [4]. They also opined that the application of the HACCP system can improve food safety in all situations. However, there is a paradox, that is, despite, progress in adoption of HACCP food-borne illness is increasing globally. According to WHO, each year, as many as 600 million or almost 1 in 10 people in the world fall sick after consuming contaminated food and 420,000 die as aresult [5]. Children under five years of age are at high risk, with 125,000 children dying from food-borne diseases every year. Also, African and South-East Asia Regions have the highest burden of food-bornediseases. Does the increase in food-borne diseases represent a paradox or failure of the HACCP system? The answer is yes and no. Yes, if the HACCP principles are not correctly applied and implemented. The strength and success of HACCP depends on it being applied correctly and in combination with other food safety management systems including; the provision of sanitary infrastructure and the application of principles of good hygienic practices.The answer can also beano because, from my experience over a decade working in three large multinational food companies in Ghana responsible implementing food safety standards such as BRC and IFS whose foundation is HACCP, I can say on authority that the HACCP system works and prevents incidents of food-bornediseases. Globally, most food-borne diseases result from malpractices during food preparation in small businesses without recourse to HACCP principles [4]. WHO, reported that the number of food-borne disease out breaks from large food companies is less than1% [6]. Small food businesses make up 99% of the culprits of unsafefood. Surprisingly, the HACCP system has still made little progress in countries wherethe burden of food-borne disease is the greatest [4]. This is where Partners in Food Solutions (PFS), an organization that I work for has made great impact by providing HACCP training and implementation support to small businesses in Africa.

However, the battle for HACCP implementation by small food businesses is far from having been won with only the provision of technical expertise. This is because; small food business owners always develop cold-feet when it comesto HACCP implementation because of twomain reasons. (1). Lack of motivation or what I call lack of a template to take inspiration from. (2) Lack of knowledgeable technical staff (e.g. FoodScientists). PFS hosted a cohort of 15 small food business owners in the Cargill facility in Ghana to expose them to best practices. Ten of them without HACCP system requested PFS to help them implement HACCP and gain certification. PFS also resolved the second issue by assigning fresh Food Science graduates to 10 of these businesses to help with on-the-ground HACCP documentation and implementation support. I then added these two innovative steps to the 14 steps to HACCP implementation recommended by Campden BRI (2009) to develop a HACCP system for the palm cream concentrate canning industry in Ghana in 2018 [7]. This novelty I developed now known as “The 16 Steps to HACCP Implementation” is now the panacea for implementing HACCP certification for all food companies (micro, small, medium and large). This novelty was tested by using it to develop a HACCP system for a typical palm cream concentrate canning SME in Ghana as my MSc thesis in Food Quality Management in 2018. Cannedpalm cream concentrate is made from the sauce squeezed from palm fruits (Elaeis guineensis) which is popularly used for soup in West Africa. The need to help canned palm cream concentrate processors with technical know-how to make their product safe for public consumption is imperative and cannot be over- emphasized.

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Problem Statement

There is a growing concern of food safety among consumers globally leading to tough legislative market requirements in the EU and US which pose serious threat to market access and growth to Ghanaian food exporters. For instance, the coming into force of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), 2015 requires that all low-acid canned food processors and exporters including Ghanaian food companies exporting to the US must implement HACCP Currently, Ghanaian SME scanning palm cream concentrate have not implemented HACCP system hence the reason for this research study. This development requires appropriate response from Ghanaian processors and exporters, baring this they lose their market share in the US market.

Objectives

This study seeks to design a HACCP system to process safe canned palm cream concentrate at Praise Export Services Limited which can be adapted for other palm cream canning businesses in Ghana. Subject selection and description: Praise Export Services Limited was selected for the research study because it is the largest palm cream processor and exporter in Ghana receiving technical support from Partners in Food Solutions, a not-for-profit organization whose vision is to strengthen food security, improve nutrition and increase economic development across Africa. Onsite inspection of existing PRPs using PRPs defined in the Campden BRI Guideline No. 42, as the standard was applied for the study [1]. Conducting and implementing the HACCP study using the 14 stages of practical HACCP implementation including the seven (7) preparatory steps and the seven (7) principles of HACCP [1].

Methodology

• Subject selection and description: The SME selected for the research study is the largest palm cream processor and exporter in West Africa receiving technical support from Partners in Food Solutions, a not-for-profit organisation whose vision is to strengthen food security, improve nutrition and increase economic development across Africa

• Onsite inspection of existing PRPs using PRPs defined in the Campden BRI Guideline No. 42, as the standard was applied for the study [1]

• Conducting and implementing the HACCP study using the 16 stages of practical HACCP implementation including mytwo (2) innovative steps, the seven (7) preparatory steps and the seven (7) principles of HACCP recommended by Campden BRI, 2009. These 16 steps include;

1. Cohort factory visit to see best practices of HACCP implementation in a world-class food factory

2. Assigning a trained recently graduated food scientist as an apprentice to the SME as a technical resource

3. Get senior management commitment

4. Agree on the scope or terms of reference of the study

5. Choose the team

6. Describe the product and process

7. Identify intended use of the product

8. Draw a process flow diagram

9. Confirm or verify the flow diagram

10. List the potential hazards you can think of or guess that they are associated with each process step, do a hazard analysis and determine the control measure of the identified hazards

11. Determine your CCPs

12. Establish critical limits for each control measure at each CCP determined

13. Have a monitoring system for each CCP

14. Have a corrective action plan for each CCP

15. Establish verification procedures to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively. Verification procedures involve performing validation, verification and review activities

16. Have documentation and record keeping procedures in place

Results and Discussions

Composition of HACCPTeam

CCP Monitoring Table

 Table: CCP#1

Table: CCP#2

Table: CCP#3

                                                Operational Prerequisite Plan Form for Canned Palm Cream Concentrate

Conclusions

There were three CCPs identified at the end of the study. Prerequisite Programmes (PRPs) were employed to reduce biological, chemical and physical hazards at the remaining process steps. An operational Prerequisite Programme (oPRP) was used to control water treatment. The three CCPs identified in this study are can seaming, retorting and retorted can cooling which are critical to canned food safety because they are microbiological food-poisoning hazards [8].The critical limits for CCP#1 are Body Hook Butting >75%, Tightness Rating > 75% and Actual Overlap > 1.1mm.That of CCP#2 are 120-122 degree Celsius for 60 minutes for both 400g and 800g can sizes and that forCCP#3 are 3-4ppm residual chlorine in incoming water and ≥ 0.5 ppm residual chlorine content in discharge water after retorting. This study also reveals that for a HACCP plan to be effectively implemented, PRPs must be implemented as the foundation for the HACCPsystem.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge with thanks the contributions of Dr. Herman Lutterodt of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana and Dr. Kingsley Osei of Crop Research Institute of Ghana in reviewing the article and Mr.Ransford Quaye for his support in preparing this article.

References

1. Campden BRI (2009) HACCP: A Practical Guide, 4th edition, Guideline 42. Campden BRI, Chipping Campden, UK
2. FAO/WHO, (1997). Food consumption and exposure of chemicals. Report of a FAO/WHO consultation Geneva,Switzerland, 10 - 14 February. FAO, Rome.
3. Nyumuah, R. O. (2016) A Thesis on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan for Dried Fruit Processing. Retrieved on 28thAugust 2018. URL: http://hdl.handle. net/123456789/10133
4. Motarjemi, Y.,& Fritz, K. (1999). Food safety, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and the increase in foodborne diseases: a paradox?10, 325-333.
5. WHO, (2015, December 3). WHO’s first ever-global estimates of foodborne diseases find children under 5 account for almost one third of deaths. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-safety
6. WHO. (1998). Data bank on Foodborne Disease Outbreaks
7. Dedzo,C.K.(2018).A The sison Developing a Generic Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System for the Palm Cream Concentrate Canning Industry in Ghana. Retrieved from http://dspace.knust.edu.gh/xmlui/ handle/123456789/11675?show=full
8. Bratt, L. (2010) Fish Canning Handbook. New York: Wiley-Blackwell