Problem Statement The USAID funded Farmer-to-Farmer Food Safety and Quality (F2F FSQ) program provides technical assistance to host organizations working in agriculture production and/or agro-processing focusing on food safety and quality through US volunteer experts, who travel to Lebanon to implement planned assignments. F2F FSQ leverage the Global Markets Program (GMaP), owned by the Global Food Security Initiative (GFSI) which provides a framework of competencies and two toolkits, to help growers and processors conduct a self-assessment to identify where they fall against a Basic or Intermediate Level of food safety and quality requirements. During the challenging economic situation, the country is currently passing through, and the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollars, food industries are focusing on decreasing their production costs, increasing their sales and expanding to international markets to maintain sustainability. Based on an up-to-date assessment, Lebanese processors are in need for updating their food safety systems to be complaint with well-known and GFSI recognized food safety standards. This will enable food processors to have higher chances in penetrating new export markets, thus receiving fresh US dollars that will enable them to sustain their businesses during the Lebanese economic crisis. The host is a company producing several natural Lebanese “mouneh” products from local producers across the region, combining their traditional expertise with stainless steel machinery to keep high quality standards throughout the agricultural value chain. They have a wide range of products like pine nut seeds, olives, olive oil, jams, thyme etc… The host has a basic food safety system in place and aims to improve their current practices to be compliant with the international recognized food safety certificates. Currently, the company applies the basic food safety practices based on their knowledge. Thus, the host team requires additional technical support and are requesting a volunteer consultant that will work with their technical team on guiding them on HACCP and identifying Critical Control Points (CCPs) across the production stages. Scope Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is considered an organized guideline for identifying and measuring specific hazards in food production. HACCP acts as a tool to measure hazards and establish control systems that focuses on prevention rather than relying on end-product testing. Thus, HACCP system is applied from the primary stage of production until it reaches the consumer for consumption. The host organization is a private company producing several natural Lebanese “mouneh” products including pine nut seeds, olives, olive oil, jams, and thyme. The company aims to enter new local and export markets; thus, they are committed to introduce the food safety mindset to the facility and are working toward meeting the HACCP requirements. The company is interested in implementing an effective food safety system that will ensure the production of safe products. However, the company lacks the needed information and expertise in implementing such systems. Thus, to meet the HACCP requirements, the host organization requires assistance in the following topics: - Hazard Analysis
- Identify critical limits for critical control points
- Identify the monitoring procedures for CCPs
- Identify corrective actions
- Establish verification procedures
- Establish record keeping and documentation.
Objectives and Outcomes of the Assignment Objective: - To train the host to develop the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan
- To guide and set HACCP for organic cereal bars and packed cereals
- To increase the host knowledge and knowhow on hazards, critical control points and prevention methods.
Outcome: - Host staff trained on applying HACCP principles
- Increased host knowhow on HACCP requirements and implementation
- HACCP principles adopted
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