A potato processing plant in Musanze. / File
A
new report shows that only 40 per cent of industrial food products on
the Rwandan market are safe against food hazard infections in banana,
cassava, honey and grains processing.
The study was carried out by National Industrial Research and
Developing Agency (NIRDA) between July last year and February 2018 to
ensure agro-processing industries use one of the important tools known
as “Hazard Analysis Critical Control point: HACCP”.
The system calls for safe techniques averting any contamination of processed foods.
According to the analysis, agro-processing is the largest
manufacturing sub-sector constituting 80% of the total number of local
industries.
However, the findings show that 60 per cent of industrial foods
from those agro-processing industries on the local market are not
certified for safety and quality because they are not aware of hazards
control system.
57 per cent of industries interviewed are aware of the safety
system, 22 per cent are aware of it at a low level while 21 per cent
have no knowledge of the tool while 43 per cent think that ‘HACCP’
system is realistic, cheap and achievable.
The report recommends basic training on HACCP, types of hazards,
their identification and control measures, corrective actions,
documentation and record keeping, emphasising the importance of HACCP
implementation to industries and their businesses.
NIRDA should also advise the government how to develop a policy
dedicated to the food processing industry to better regulate the sector
and guide those who want to enter the food industry on how to include
the hazard control system from the beginning, it says.
Speaking during the launch of the training on using HACCP system,
Dr George Nyombaire, Head of Research and Development Coordination
Department at NIRDA, said there are over 200 small agro-processing
industries.
“The HACCP system will help produce goods of sufficient quality and
quantity to supply potential export markets in line with the National
Export Strategy II. Considering that African countries recently signed a
common market treaty, local food industries need to make sure they are
certified for such food safety standards so that they are not rejected
by clients,” he said.
The Director General of NIRDA, Kampeta Sayinzoga, said that in the
next fiscal year they will partner with Business Development Fund (BDF)
so that agro-processing SMEs can access finance to acquire necessary
equipment and cover any other costs in implementation of hazards control
system.
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