Under the theme “From farm to fork: Safe food, Secured markets and Sustained profits” the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) in collaboration with the Support for Competitiveness Programme (SCP) hosted a symposium yesterday for food manufacturers, food establishments, restaurants and fast food outlets.The seminar was held at the Regency Suites Hotel at Hadfield Street, Georgetown.According to Public Relations Officer of GNBS, Lloyd David,Wholesale Jerseys, the event was a collaborative effort seeking to increase the competitiveness of local businesses in the area of food safety and standards.Several of the participants at the seminarHe explained that a major challenge of the GNBS is its inability to garner sufficient funds to conduct an aggressive communication campaign in Guyana to create an understanding and appreciation for standards and the underlying but important role standards play in the development of our economy.However, he noted that in an effort to address this challenge, technical assistance was sourced under the Guyana Economic Opportunities/ United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (GEO/USAID) project which is coordinated by the Support for Competitive Programme, to develop and execute a comprehensive GNBS communication strategy which would create the awareness of standards and standardisation.“The goal of this communication strategy is to provide a framework from which the GNBS can focus its communication efforts so that there is greater impact, as it relates to standardisation, in the future.” David said.“I need not highlight the stringent requirements and standards that are available to ensure food safety locally and abroad, but I would like to encourage each business represented here this afternoon to begin to gear itself to the meet the changing dynamics of the world of trade today and the future.”Technical Officer of GNBS, Trumel Redmond, said the objective of the programme deals with the scope of the food chain from the farm to the consumption of foods.He said the event deals with recognizing and identifying hazards that can occur at any stage of the food chain, it also describes approaches that can be used to control the effects of the hazards.Adding that food safety hazards deal with the biological, chemical or psychical agents in foods, Redmond explained that biological agents deal with bacteria,cheap jerseys, viruses, parasites and aflatoxins; Chemical agents are pesticides,Wholesale China Jerseys, cleaning chemicals and veterinary residue while physical hazards are glass, metal,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, stones, plastics and wood.He noted that the key concept deals with the sequence of the stages and operations involved in the production, processing, distribution storage and handling of foods and its ingredients primarily from production to consumption.Underscoring that the GNBS facilitates the development of standards through various technical committees, he pointed out that the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system deals with assurance of food safety which can be corrective or preventative.“Corrective deals with companies adhering to national or international objectives for food safety. By applying HACCP,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, the company can assure that these objectives are met. Preventative deals with the hazard analysis; potential hazards that need to be controlled to prevent potential harm to the consumer are identified,Cheap Jerseys Store,” Redmond stated.Noting that GNBS can help business develop in all areas, Redmond said the agency can provide consultancy services, training programmes on HACCP and ISO 22000, which is needed, since there is a constant change in the arena as time goes, where society will be only supporting organisations with standards.
