Ensuring availability of safe food

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an inter-governmental body of 158 member countries. Codex Alimentarius means "Food Code" or "Food Law". It was established by FAO in 1961. Codex standards guidelines and other recommendations ensure that food products must not be harmful to the consumers and can be traded safely between the member countries.

Food safety methods are defined on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures relating to food additives, veterinary drug and pesticide residues, contaminants, method of analysis and sampling and Codex guidelines of hygienic practice. Codex food safety standards are to be used as the reference for the World Trade Organisation (WTO). More than 300 Codex standard guidelines relating to food quality composition and safety are in FAO / WTO. The CAC worked over 760 food additives and contaminants, more than 2500 maximum limits for pesticide residues and more than 150 veterinary drug residues. The CAC also has guideline level for a number of environmental and industrial contaminants. Taking this philosophy a step further, CAC has adopted the guidelines for the application of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) System in Food Hygiene.

The HACCP is a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems -- preventive measures from preliminary production to end production of a food processing centre / factory. In 1994, the Uruguay Round agreements included Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS agreement) and the agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT agreement). The agreements will be applied by the member countries of WTO.

The SPS agreement confirms the right of WTO member countries to apply measures necessary to protect human, animal and plant life and health. This right was included in 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The TBT agreement is a revision of the agreement of the same name first undertaken under Tokyo Round of GATT negotiations in the 1970s. The objectives of the agreement is to prevent the use of national or regional technical requirements or standards in general as unjustified technical barriers to trade. The agreement covers standards relating to all types of products both industrial and agricultural, with the exception of aspects of food standards related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The TBT agreement basically provides that technical standards and regulations must have a legitimate purpose. The Codex standard guidelines and other recommendations assume the unprecedented importance with respect to consumer protection and international food trade.

Codex general principles of food hygiene
The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene lay a firm foundation for ensuring food safety. The Codex principles follow the food chain from primary production to the final consumer, taking hygienic control measures at each stage of production and recommend an HACCP (Hazards Analysis Critical Control Point) based approach and guideline for its application. These principles of food hygiene are internationally recognised as essential to ensure the safety and suitability of food. The application of general principles of food hygiene and of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) allows the producer to operate within environmental conditions favourable for the production of safe food. The first step of implementing HACCP in any processing / production system is to review the existing programmes for compliance with General Principles of Food Hygiene (GPFH) and GMPs and to verify whether all the control measures and record maintaining are followed in each step/tier of production. In summary, adherence to GPFH and GMPs will simplify the implementation of HACCP plans and will ensure that the integrity of HACCP plans is maintained and that the manufactured product is safe.

The objectives of the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene are:

• Identifying the essential principles of food hygiene applicable throughout the food chain (including primary production through to the final consumer) to achieve the goal of ensuring that the food is safe and suitable for human consumption.
• Recommending an HACCP based approach as a means to enhance food safety.
• Indicating how to implement those principles.
• Providing a guidance for specific codes which may be needed for sectors of food chain, processes or commodities to amplify the hygienic requirement specific to those areas.

HACCP system approach
The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a worldwide recognised systemic and preventive approach that addresses biological, chemical and physical hazards through anticipation and prevention from primary product to end product / consumer. The HACCP concept grew from two major developments. The first one is related with Dr. W. E. Deming, whose theories of quality management are widely regarded as a major factor in turning around the quality of Japanese products in 1950s. The second one is the concepts of Pillsbury Company in 1960s, the United States Army and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a collaborative development for the production of safe foods.

HACCP emphasised control of the process as far upstream in the processing system as possible by utilising operator control and or continuous monitoring techniques at Critical Control Points. Pillsbury presented the HACCP system / plan publicly in 1971. In early 1980s the HACCP approach was adopted by other major food processing companies in USA. In 1985 the United States National Academy of Science (USNAS) recommended that the HACCP approach should be adopted in food processing factories or industries to ensure food safety / secured food. Very recently International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF) and International Association of Milk Food and Environmental Sanitarians (IAMFES) have recommended the broad application of HACCP to food safety.

Advantages: The HACCP system uses the approach of controlling critical points in food handling to prevent safety problems. The system which is science based and systematic, identifies specific hazards and measures for their control to ensure safety of food. HACCP is based on prevention and reduces the reliance on end-product inspection testing. Besides enhancing food safety, other benefits of applying HACCP include more effective use of resources, saving to the food industry and more timely response to food safety problem. The application of HACCP system can aid inspection by food control regulatory authorities, and promote international trade by increasing buyers' confidence.

Hazards: Hazards may appear at each steps of processing food. The potential hazards of a food processing unit or factory are Biological, Chemical and Physical.

Biological hazards:
Food borne Biological hazards include Microbiological Organisms such as Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi and Parasites. The organisms are commonly associated with humans and with raw products entering the food establishment. Many of these micro organisms occur naturally in the environment where foods are grown. Most of them are killed or inactivated by cooking and their numbers can be minimised by adequate control of handling and storage practices.

Bacteria: The majority of well known food borne diseases are caused by pathogenic bacteria. A certain level of these micro organisms can be expected with some raw foods. Improper storage or handling of these foods can contribute to a significant increase in the level of these micro organisms. Cooked foods often provide fertile media for rapid growth of micro organisms if they are not properly handled or stored.

Viruses: Viruses can be food borne / water borne /transmitted by human/animal or other contacts. Viruses are unable to reproduce outside a living cell. They cannot therefore replicate in food, and can only be carried by it.

Parasites: The Parasitic infections are commonly associated with under-cooked meat products or contaminated ready-to-eat food. Parasites in products that are intended to be eaten raw, marinated or partially cooked can be killed by effective freezing techniques.

Fungi: Fungi can be beneficial as well as harmful. Some fungi can be used in the production of some specific foods like cheese. However some produce toxic substances (Mycotoxin) which are harmful for humans or animals.

Chemical hazards:
Chemical contaminants in food may be naturally occurring or may be added during the processing of food. Harmful chemicals at high levels have been associated with acute cases of food borne illnesses and can be responsible for chronic illness at lower levels. The example of Chemical Hazards are -- (Naturally occurring chemicals): Allergens, Mycotoxins, Scombrotoxin, Ciguatoxin, Mushroom toxins, Shellfish toxin; (Added chemicals): Polychlorinated biphenyls, Pesticides, Fertilizers, Antibiotics, Growth hormones; (Toxic elements): Lead, Zinc, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, Cyanide; (Food additives): Vitamins, Minerals, Contaminants, water and stream treatment chemicals; (Packaging materials): Plasticizers, Vinyl chloride, Printing or coding ink, Adhesives, Lead, Tin etc.

Physical hazards:
Illness and injury can result from hard foreign objects / materials in food. These physical hazards can result from contamination and / or poor practices at many points in the food chain from harvest to consumer, including those within the food establishments. The examples of physical hazards are: glass pieces can cause cuts, bleeding and may require surgery, wood pieces may cut, infect, choke and may require surgery, stone can be choking, broken teeth, metal may cut, infect and may require surgery, bone and plastic can be choking, cause infection and may require surgery etc.

In the middle of 1997 fish export was stopped for six months due to non application of HACCP system in the fish processing factories / units. At that time a team of Codex Alimentarius Commission came to Bangladesh and visited some fish processing units/factories. They suggested the fish exporters of Bangladesh to apply HACCP system in the fish processing units. To ensure the application of HACCP system in the fish processing units they came again to Bangladesh in December of the same year. After confirming the application of HACCP in fish processing factories they allowed 57 Bangladeshi fish exporters to export fish to other countries.

In our country we have thousands of different food processing factories/units to feed millions of citizens. These are fish processing factories, cold and soft drink factories, dry fish plants, fruit processing factories, soya bean and mustard oil industries, spices processing industries, rice mills, flour mills etc. But how many factories or processing units are applying HACCP system? The probable answer will be 'a few'. So now it is time to think whether the quality or safe food or secured food is there in the market and whether customers are getting quality or safe food. Hence the government should come forward to implement HACCP system in each food processing unit to save millions of citizens from food oriented hazards.

Md. Jafar Ullah Gazi is Deputy Director, Dept. of Agriculture Extension, Dhaka.