A Presentation for
National Conference on Food Safety and Hygienic
Practices in Agricultural Marketing
Organized by COSAMB at Goa
18.02.2011
Dr.S.C.Khurana
Deputy Agricultural Marketing Adviser
Directorate of Marketing & Inspection
Ministry of Agriculture
Head Office, Faridabad-121001.
Food Safety
An assurance that the food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is
prepared and/or eaten according to the intended use.
Safe Food
Food which is free of contaminants or hazards and will not cause harm,
injury or illness to the consumer.
All that looks and tastes good may not be safe for consumption
Good Hygienic Practices
•
•
The conditions under which food is handled from the point of
production until final consumption determine the quality and safety of
the food we eat.
Hygienic practices form an integral part of all Food Safety
Management System.
Food Safety begins on the farm.
FAO and Food Safety
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Food Chain approach to Food Safety - FAO defines the food chain approach as
recognition that the responsibility for the supply of safe, healthy and nutritious
food is shared along the entire food chain – by all involved with the production,
processing, handling, trade and consumption of food.
As per FAO, an estimated three million people around the world die every year
from food and water borne diseases, with millions becoming sick.
It adversely impacts national economics and livelihoods through reduced
availability of food.
It results in closure of export markets.
To reduce this adverse impact of food safety emergencies, FAO has established
an Emergency Prevention System for Food Safety (EMPRES Food Safety)
FAO has prepared strategic plan of EMPRES Food Safety to deal with global
food safety emergencies to contribute towards protecting human health and
ensuring the safe trade of food.
FAO has established an EMPRES Food Safety to serve as a key international
system to assist in the prevention and management of global food safety
emergencies, including the three pillars of Early Warning, Emergency Prevention
and Rapid Response.
WTO – Agreements Relevant to Food Trade
•
•
•
•
Agreement on Agriculture
Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures
Agreement on TBT
Agreement on Pre-shipment Inspection
Define the rules for trade of food and agricultural
products.
SPS Agreement
SPS Agreement deals with food safety and animal and
plant health.
KEY CONCEPTS:
• SPS measures on the basis of scientific evidence.
• Based on scientific principles.
• Based on risk assessment.
KEY FEATURES:
• Basic Rights (Article 2)
• Harmonization of Standards (Article 3)
• Equivalence (Article 4)
• Assessment of Risk and ALOP (Article 5).
• Transparency (Article 7)
What is SPS Measure?
ANY MEASURE APPLIED• To protect animal or plant life from risks of additives, contaminants,
toxins or disease causing organisms in foods.
• To protect human or animal life from risks of additives, contaminants,
toxins or disease causing organisms in foods.
• To protect human life from risks arising from diseases carried by
animals or plants.
• To prevent spread of pests.
• SPS measures are food safety, animal and plant quarantine measures
that are applied to domestically produced food or local animal or
plant diseases, as well as to products coming from other countries.
• The protection of fish and wild fauna, forests and wild flora are
included in this definition while the protection of environment per se
is excluded.
SPS Agreement
RECOGNIZES INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
• For food safety – Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
• For animal health – International Office for Epizootics (IOE).
• For plant health – International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
Recognizes standards, guidelines and recommendations established by
CAC relating to –
•
•
•
•
Food Additives
Veterinary drug and pesticide residues
Methods of analysis and sampling
Code of hygienic practices
For harmonizing SPS Measures, members to base their Measures on
International Standards.
Codex Alimentarius Commission
•
•
•
•
•
Joint FAO/WHO food standards programme
Founded – 1962
183 member countries
Assigns new work to subsidiary bodies
Adopts Standards, Code of Practices, Guidelines, etc.
CODEX OBJECTIVES:
• Protect the health of consumers
• Ensure fair food trade practices
CODEX STANDARDS:
• Based on sound science
• Useful in development of national requirements
• Relationship to trade agreements
Food Safety Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
Residues of Pesticides and Heavy/poisonous metals
Mycotoxins
Microbial Contamination
Food Irradiation
Traceability
Food Safety Management Systems
Residues of Pesticides and Heavy Poisonous Metals
•
Pesticides are toxic chemicals used to kill or control pests in
agriculture and urban areas.
•
Use of pesticides can lead to various problems including
residues in food and feed.
Residues of pesticides are controlled through GAPs, IPM, etc.
At the international level, Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide
Residues (JMPR) is an international expert scientific group
which conducts scientific evaluation of pesticide residues in
food.
JMPR provides advice to Codex Committee on Pesticide
Residues on the setting of MRLs in food and feed commodities
moving in international trade.
Heavy/poisonous metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium,
mercury, etc., may contaminate the food through environment,
industrial waste, etc.
•
•
•
•
Mycotoxins
• Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites of fungi
belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium
genera.
• Mycotoxins on foods and feeds represent a major threat to
human and animal health as they are responsible for many
toxicities including cancer, vascular, kidney and nervous
disorders.
• According to FAO estimates, global losses of foodstuffs
due to mycotoxins are in the range of 1000 million MTs
per year.
• Codex has adopted Code of Practices for reduction of
mycotoxin contaminants in cereals and other commodities
including peanuts, feedstuff for animals, tree nuts, etc.
Microorganisms in Food
• Microorganisms in food can be both beneficial and harmful.
• Beneficial microorganisms are used in preparing cheese,
yoghurt, bread, fermented meat, etc.. Probiotics play an
important role in improving resistance to various diseases.
• Certain microorganisms have been associated with causing
food borne illnesses.
• Diseases are caused by pathogens such as Salmonella,
Campylobacter, E Coli, etc., and parasites such as
Cryptosporidium, Cryptospora, trematodes, etc.
• The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk
Assessment (JEMRA) is a programme of activities that
conducts risk assessments for the Codex Committee on Food
Hygiene and develops guidelines for conducting risk
assessments.
• Microbial contamination controlled through various FSMSs
including GHPs.
Bacterial Pathogens
Pre harvest Sources
• Soil, feces, irrigation water, manure, animals,
human handling, etc.
Post Harvest Sources
• Feces, harvesting equipment, human
handling, transport container and vehicle,
rinse water, etc.
Minimizing Microbial Food Safety Hazards in Fresh
Fruits and Vegetables (US-FDA)
8 Principles:
•
Principle 1. Prevention is favored over reliance on corrective actions once contamination has occurred.
•
Principle 2. Growers, packers, or shippers should use good agricultural and management practices in
those areas over which they have control.
•
Principle 3. Fresh produce can become microbiologically contaminated at any point along the farm-totable food chain. The major source of microbial contamination with fresh produce is associated with
human or animal feces.
•
Principle 4. Minimize the potential of microbial contamination from water used with the produce.
•
Principle 5. Practices using animal manure or municipal bio-solid wastes should be managed closely to
minimize the potential for microbial contamination.
•
Principle 6. Worker hygiene and sanitation practices during production, harvesting, sorting, packing, and
transport play a critical role in minimizing the potential for microbial contamination.
•
Principle 7. Follow all applicable local, state, and Federal laws and regulations.
•
Principle 8. There must be effective monitoring to ensure that all elements of the programme function
correctly and to help track produce back through the distribution channels to the producer.
Food Irradiation
• Process of exposing food products to ionizing energy for
killing bacteria and extending shelf life.
• WHO has approved safety of FI for use on wide variety
of food products.
• General Standard for Irradiated Food adopted by Codex.
• Codex has prescribed limits for radionuclide in food.
• PFA Rules permit irradiation of several food.
• Minimum/Maximum dose prescribed.
• Labeling mandatory.
Traceability
Definition adopted by 27th Session of CAC (2004):
“Traceability/Product tracing is the ability to follow the
movement of a food through specified stage(s) of production,
processing and distribution”.
• Unique web based traceability systems namely, Grapenet
and Anarnet developed for exports of grapes and
pomegranates to EU countries.
• An important tool for recalling/finding causes of unsafe
food.
Food Safety Management Systems
•
•
•
•
GAPs
GMPs
GHPs
HACCP
WHY NEEDED ?
• Safety and quality of food
• Legal requirements for safe food manufacturing e.g.,
PFA/FSSA/International Requirements.
• International trade in food products
• Retailer requirements
• Consumer requirements
Good Agricultural Practices
Description by FAO:
•
GAPs are a collection of principles to apply for on-farm
production and post production processes, resulting in safe
and healthy food and non-food agricultural products, while
taking into account economical, social and environmental
sustainability.
FOCUS ON:
• Prevention of contamination in fields
• Microbiological hazards
• Pesticide residues
• Very difficult to completely sanitize produce once
contamination has occurred.
Food Safety begins on the farm.
Good Agricultural Practices (Contd..)
Rely on 4 Principles:
• Economically and efficiently produce sufficient (food security). Safe (food
safety) and nutritious food (food quality).
• Sustain and enhance natural resources.
• Maintain viable farming enterprises and contribute to sustainable
livelihoods.
• Meet cultural and social demands of society.
GAPs applied through sustainable agricultural methods such as:
• IPM
• IFM
• INM etc.
The concept of GAPs has changed in recent years because of rapidly changing
agriculture, globalization of world trade, food crisis (mad cow disease), nitrate
pollution of water, appearance of pesticide resistance, soil erosion, etc.
Emphasis is now on food safety issues.
GAPs - GLOBALGAP
•
•
•
•
Global partnership for safe and sustainable agriculture.
Organization of retailers, growers, exporters and importers.
Started in 1997 as EUREPGAP an initiative of retailers.
Mission is to develop standards and procedures for global certification of GAPs.
GLOBALGAP STANDARDS:
• Have environmental and social dimensions.
• Prevent degradation of soil.
• Ensure optimum utilization of water resources.
• Improve yield and quality.
• Based on HACCP Principles
GLOBALGAP PRODUCT SCOPES:
• Fruits and Vegetables
• Flowers and Ornamentals
• Coffee (Green)
• Tea
• Integrated Farm Assurance (Livestock and Combinable Crops)
• Integrated Aquaculture Assurance.
Bureau of Indian Standards and Quality Council of India are working on developing
IndiaGAP Standards based on GLOBALGAP keeping Indian conditions into
consideration.
Codex Codes of Hygienic Practices
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE
HYGIENE (CAC/RCP 1-1969).
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR DRIED FRUITS
(CAC/RCP 3-1969)
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR DEHYDRATED FRUITS
AND VEGETABLES INCLUDING EDIBLE FUNGI (CAC/RCP 5-1971)
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR TREE NUTS (CAC/RCP
6-1972)
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR GROUNDNUTS
(PEANUTS) (CAC/RCP 22-19791).
•
RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PACKAGING AND TRANSPORT OF
FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (CAC/RCP 44-1995)
•
CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES (CAC/RCP 53-2003).
•
CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS (CAC/RCP 57-2004).
•
CODE OF HYGIENIC PRACTICE FOR MEAT (CAC/RCP 58-2005)
- GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD
Recommended International Code of Practice General Principles of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
• Provide basic Rules for the hygienic handing, storage, processing,
distribution and final preparation of all food, along the food chain.
• Should be used in conjunction with specific code of hygienic practices.
• Internationally recognized as essential to ensure safety and suitability
of food.
Scope:
• The document follows the food chain from primary production to the
final consumer.
Objectives:
• Identify the essential principles of food hygiene applicable through out
the food chain.
• Indicate how to implement the principles.
• Recommend a HACCP based approach as a means to enhance food
safety.
• Provide guidance for specific codes which may be needed.
General Principles of Food Hygiene – CAC/RCP 1
Cover:
• Primary Production
• Establishment : Design and Facilities
• Control of Operation
• Establishment : Maintenance and Sanitation
• Establishment : Personal Hygiene
• Transportation
• Product Information and Consumer Awareness
• Training
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
PRIMARY PRODUCTION:
Objective:
Primary production should be managed in a way that ensures that food is safe
and suitable for its intended use. This may include:
•
•
•
Avoiding use of areas where the environment poses a threat to safety of
food.
Controlling contaminants, pests and diseases of animals and plants.
Adopting practices and measures to ensure food is produced under
hygienic conditions.
Rationale:
To reduce the likelihood of introducing a hazard which may adversely affect
the safety of food, or its suitability for consumption, at later stages of the food
chain.
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
PRIMARY PRODUCTION (Contd.):
Hygienic Production:
Producers should implement measures to –
• Control contamination from air, soil, water, feedstuffs, fertilizers, pesticides,
veterinary drugs, etc., used in primary production.
• Control plant and animal health.
• Protect food sources from faecal and other contamination.
• Manage waste
Handling, Storage and Transport:
Procedures should be in place to• Sort food material unfit for human consumption.
• Dispose rejected material in a hygienic manner.
• Protect food from contamination by pests or by chemical, physical or microbiological contaminants.
Deterioration and spoilage may be prevented by controlling temperature, humidity
and/or other controls.
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
SECTION IV – ESTABLISHMENT: DESIGN AND FACILITIES
Objective:
Depending on the nature of the operations, and the risks associated with them,
premises, equipment and facilities should be located, designed and constructed to
ensure that:

contamination is minimized;

design and layout permit appropriate maintenance, cleaning and
disinfections and minimize air-borne contamination;

surfaces and materials, in particular those in contact with food, are non-toxic
in intended use and, where necessary, suitably durable, and easy to maintain
and clean;

where appropriate, suitable facilities are available for temperature, humidity
and other controls; and

there is effective protection against pest access and harbourage.
Rationale:
Attention to good hygienic design and construction, appropriate location and
the provision of adequate facilities is necessary to enable hazards to be
effectively controlled.
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
SECTION VI-ESTABLISHMENT: MAINTENANCE AND
SANITATION
Objective:
To establish effective systems to:
 ensure adequate and appropriate maintenance and
cleaning;
 control pests;
 manage waste; and
 monitor effectiveness of maintenance and sanitation
procedures.
Rationale:
To facilitate the continuing effective control of food
hazards, pests and other agents likely to contaminate food.
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
SECTION VII – ESTABLISHMENT: PERSONAL HYGIENE
Objectives:
To ensure that those who come directly or indirectly into contact
with food are not likely to contaminate food by:
 maintaining an appropriate degree of personal cleanliness;
 behaving and operating in an appropriate manner.
Rationale:
People who do not maintain an appropriate degree of personal
cleanliness, who have certain illnesses or conditions or who
behave inappropriately, can contaminate food and transmit
illness to consumers.
General Principles Of Food Hygiene – CAC/ RCP -1
SECTION VIII – TRANSPORTATION
Objectives:
Measures should be taken where necessary to:
 protect food from potential sources of contamination;
 protect food from damage likely to render the food unsuitable for
consumption; and
 provide an environment which effectively controls the growth of
pathogenic or spoilage micro-organisms and the production of
toxins in food.
Rationale:
Food may become contaminated or may not reach its destination in
a suitable condition for consumption, unless effective control
measures are taken during transport, even where adequate hygiene
control measures have been taken earlier in the food chain.
Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
CAC/RCP 53 -2003








The Code addresses GAPs, GMPs that help control microbial, chemical and physical
hazards associated with all stages of production of fresh fruits and vegetables from
primary production to packing.
Particular attention is given to minimizing microbial hazards.
The Code gives general framework of recommendations for fresh fruits and
vegetables.
It has Annexures addressing specific needs for Ready to Eat Fresh Pre-cuts Fruits
and Vegetables and for primary production of seeds for sprouting and production of
Sprouts for human consumption.
This Code should be used in conjunction with CAC/RCP-1
Recently an Annexure for fresh leafy vegetables has been developed by the Codex
Committee on Food Hygiene and has been adopted by the 33rd Session of CAC held
in July, 2010.
CCFH is developing Guidelines for the Application of General Principles of Food
Hygiene for the control of Viruses in Food. The physical working group led by
Netherlands is developing the draft guidelines.
The CCFH is updating the document CAC/GL 21-1997 “Principles for the
Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods by introducing
new risk management metrices namely, Food Safety Objective (FSO), Performance
Objective (PO) and Performance Criteria (PC).
Code of Practice for Packaging & Transport of Fresh
Fruits & Vegetables CAC/RCP 44 -1995
•
The Code recommends proper packaging and transport
of fresh fruit and vegetables in order to maintain
produce quality during transport and marketing.
Covers :
• Design, Condition, Loading , Method of Transport
• Packaging to maintain produce quality during
transportation and marketing.
• Pre-cooling practices
Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Point
A system which identifies, evaluates and controls hazards
which are significant for food safety.
Hazard:
A biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of,
food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.
Benefits of HACCP:
• Compliance with legal requirements top produce safe food.
• Quality cost savings and improvements.
• Reduces inter-departmental barriers.
• Safer introduction of change (new process/product).
• Focused on safety issues.
• Customer satisfaction.
HACCP Principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Identify potential hazards and measures for their
control.
Determine critical control points (CCP).
Establish critical limits which must be met to ensure
each CCP is under control.
Establish a monitoring system.
Establishing the corrective action to be taken when
monitoring indicates that a CCP is not under control.
Establish verification procedures to confirm that the
HACCP system is working effectively.
Establishing documentation for procedures and
records.
PFA Act, 1954/The Food Safety and Standards Act , 2006
PFA Act, 1954
An Act to make provision for prevention of adulteration of the food.
FSSA, 2006
An Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India for laying down science based
standards of articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome
food for human consumption and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India established .
• Draft Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2010 notified .
• Draft Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011 notified .
Draft Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2010
Chapter 3 – Licensing and Registration for Food Businesses:
Schedule 4: General Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by
Food Business Operators
• Part I – General Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by
Petty FBOs applying for registration.
• Sanitary and Hygienic Requirements for food manufacturer/processor.
• Sanitary and Hygienic Requirements for units other than
manufacturing.
• Part II – General Requirements on Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to
be followed by all FBOs.
• Part III – Specific Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by
FBOs engaged in manufacture, processing, storing and selling milk
and milk products.
• Part IV – Specific Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by
FBOs engaged in Slaughter of Meat Animals, Processing,
Manufacture, Storage & Sale of Meat and Meat Products.
• Part V - Specific Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by
Practices to be followed by FBOs engaged in catering / food service
establishments.
Part II – General Requirements on Hygienic and Sanitary
Practices to be followed by all FBOs.
Cover:
• Location and surroundings
• Lay out and design of food establishment premises.
• Equipment
• Facilities for water supply, cleaning equipment, washing of raw
materials, ice and steam, drainage and waste disposal, personnel
facilities and toilets, air quality and ventilation, lighting, etc.
• Procurement and storage of raw materials
• Processing/Preparation, packaging and distribution.
• Food testing facilities
• Sanitation and maintenance of premises
• Personal hygiene, cleanliness, behaviour, visitors, training
• Audit, documentation and records.
WUWM Community Guide to GHPs Specific to
Wholesale Market Management in the EU
• The World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) is a non-profit
Association with international membership that engages in all fields and
activities related to the promotion, development and international exchange
of expertise and information on wholesale markets.
• WUWM European Regional Section has published in 2005 Good Practice
Guide relevant to the operation and management of wholesale markets within
the European Community.
• The document is in accordance with EU food laws on hygienic practices.
• The Guide has been developed specifically for wholesale market
management, with special requirements when products of animal origin are
sold in the wholesale market.
• The document is intended for public and/or private companies responsible
for the management of wholesale markets in the EU.
• Wholesale market is defined as “a food business that includes several units
which share common installations and sections where foodstuffs are sold to
food business operators”.
• Food business is defined as “any undertaking, whether for profit or not and
whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any
stage of production, processing and distribution of food”.
WUWM - Community Guide to GHPs
Responsibilities of Wholesale Market Management
• Rent suitable accommodation to food businesses to enable them to
carry out their activities within their own areas of responsibility
according to food law requirements;
• Manage all public areas such as: display and sales areas, public storage
facilities (i.e. managing all activities associated with cleaning,
disinfecting, maintenance, chilling, cooling, etc);
• Provide and/or organise some or all utilities and services to food
businesses (e.g. water, gas, heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation,
electricity, etc);
• Provide and/or organise adequate sewage and pollution control;
• Supervise the market’s waste management, pest control, etc, taking into
consideration both environmental and economical aspects;
• Design and provide buildings to be occupied by food businesses and to
be operated under their direct control, in conformity with the
exigencies of the food law;
• Organise and manage traffic circulation within the site.
WUWM - Community Guide to GHPs
Detailed Guide to Good Practices includes:
• General requirements for food premises including outside
areas and sites.
• Specific requirements in rooms where foodstuffs are
prepared, treated or processed
• Equipment requirement.
• Food waste
• Water supply
• Personal hygiene
• Training
• HACCP based procedure
• Appendices - Cleaning and Disinfection Schedule
- HACCP Worksheets
Thrust Areas
•
Food Safety begins at the Farm – promoting Food Safety
Management Systems – GAPs, GHPs, etc.
•
Industry to have backward linkages with farms for ensuring
safe produce.
•
Encouraging Grading, Packaging and Labelling at
farm/market level ensuring uniformity, traceability and better
prices for the produce.
•
Creation of infrastructural facilities such as pack houses with
grading facilities, cold chain, cold storages, etc.
•
Developing Good Practices Manual for agricultural markets.
THANKS
Contact Details:
khurana183@gmail.com