SPS compliance in fresh produce supply chains: an integrated approach for food quality and safety assurance
Phytosanitary risk management programme has being implemented in Pakistan since 2014
Abstract
In recent years in Pakistan, the concept of food quality and safety has been intensively traded and the consumer’s level of conscious towards ‘safe’ consumption of fresh produce has risen. Accordingly, the sources of supply of fresh produce and the chains through where the high value horticultural commodities are handled and processed have attempted to improve their production, handling and processing systems to match with the demands of their deserving markets and consumers.
In this context, capacity building of the fresh produce supply chain stakeholders in the developing countries which are the source of fresh produce for rest of world becomes an area of prime importance. Phytosanitary risk management program has being implemented in Pakistan since, 2014.
The program includes capacity building of the national plant protection organizations alongside improving the capacity of research, academia, development sectors and the fresh produce industry in the area of Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) compliance in fresh produce supply chains. A group of master trainers was developed by organizing a walk the chain learning experience in a well-structured horticultural industry in South Africa. The master trainers developed a training manual and generated learning guides and conducted follow on stakeholder’s trainings in whole-of-the-chain context for hundreds of the industry participants. The training program has been acknowledged by the beneficiaries as a complete package for orientation of the fresh produce supply chains, from the point of production to the point of retail, to cater the food compliant of the current food quality and safety requirements.
Citation
Bajwa, B.E., Mazhar, M.S. and Ali, S. (2017) SPS compliance in fresh produce supply chains: an integrated approach for food quality and safety assurance. Journal of Food Technology 15(3–6), 7–16.