Articles
MALAYSIA¿S FRESH PRODUCE FARMS: ARE WE READY FOR HACCP?
Article number
895_33
Pages
269 – 276
Language
English
Abstract
Food safety is now a universally recognized public health priority in both the developed and developing countries, and is rapidly becoming a critical component in the international trade in fresh produce.
Although fresh fruit and vegetables are examples of minimally processed foods there is often a high risk of contamination.
SALM (Skim Amalan Ladang Baik Malaysia), the Malaysian Farm Certification Scheme, became a national program in 2002 to recognize and certify those farms which adopt good agricultural practices (GAP), while the development of Malaysias Best has been implemented to encourage farmers to sign up for the scheme to meet defined grades and standards, especially in relation to export markets.
This clearly identifies the farm as an integral part of the food safety management system.
GAP is a good starting point to develop specific Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, but currently, there is no known example of an actual on-farm HACCP plan for a farm in Malaysia.
None of the major GlobalGAP certified farms are required to adopt HACCP. However, SQF (Safe Quality Food) 1000 does embed HACCP at the farm level.
This leads to the question: could and should HACCP be extended back in supply chains to the farm? At the same time, as SALM and Malaysias Best are promoted to underpin trade, how well do these systems compare to other international private standards used in the global fresh produce trade?
Although fresh fruit and vegetables are examples of minimally processed foods there is often a high risk of contamination.
SALM (Skim Amalan Ladang Baik Malaysia), the Malaysian Farm Certification Scheme, became a national program in 2002 to recognize and certify those farms which adopt good agricultural practices (GAP), while the development of Malaysias Best has been implemented to encourage farmers to sign up for the scheme to meet defined grades and standards, especially in relation to export markets.
This clearly identifies the farm as an integral part of the food safety management system.
GAP is a good starting point to develop specific Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, but currently, there is no known example of an actual on-farm HACCP plan for a farm in Malaysia.
None of the major GlobalGAP certified farms are required to adopt HACCP. However, SQF (Safe Quality Food) 1000 does embed HACCP at the farm level.
This leads to the question: could and should HACCP be extended back in supply chains to the farm? At the same time, as SALM and Malaysias Best are promoted to underpin trade, how well do these systems compare to other international private standards used in the global fresh produce trade?
Publication
Authors
J.M. Soon, R.N. Baines, W.P. Davies, S.A. Chadd
Keywords
food safety, GAP, international trade, Malaysia¿s Best, SALM
Online Articles (37)