Food Safety Management Systems training in Nairobi, Kenya

Last week, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) and Q-Point B.V. teamed up to train FPEAK members and teachers from the Kenya School of Agriculture on Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS).

What was the training about?

During the week, trainers Patrice Ngenga and Patrick Musyoki focused on the Kenya Standard 1785:2016. The KS 1785:2016 is mandatory by Kenyan law for businesses active in the horticulture industry. The standard looks into both food safety requirements as well as sustainability and the environment to ensure the quality of Kenyan produce.

Q-Point trainers Feline and Fabienne focussed on the requirements for the export market looking into legal limits of pesticides and micro-organisms. FSMS comes in different shapes and sizes and the ones requested by European retailers (GFSI-recognized schemes such as BRC, IFS and FSSC 22000) were discussed including specific differences between these standards.

An important part of all FSMS are the HACCP principles. Identifying the applicable hazards for your produce and setting up an HACCP analysis can be challenging and defining the correct control measures can vary depending on your specific business activities. As such, a full day was spent explaining the HACCP principles and putting them into practice during a case study. Interesting discussions arose during the training sessions, leading the participants to share their knowledge and expertise from the field and helping each other to improve.

On the last day, the team was received with open arms by Six Square Limited, a company based in Nairobi focussing on packing and logistics (export) of amongst others fresh fruits and vegetables. Here, the team was able to see HACCP in practice!

#Foodqualitymanagement #foodsafety #HACCP #IFS #BRC #Kenya