Archive for the ‘Food Safety’ Category

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Cereals Maker Tackles Global Markets

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

WA Ukrainian processed food company taps into global markets.

As Ukraine works towards developing a robust market economy, companies are recognizing the importance of adopting standards that make their products available to global markets. This is especially important in the food industry, which follows strict international guidelines. With help from USAID, businesses in Ukraine are learning to comply with these guidelines.

Cerealia Ukraine Ltd is a company that makes and processes a variety of convenience and breakfast foods. To comply with international food safety regulations, Cerealia needed to redesign processing areas, renovate obsolete equipment, and educate personnel about sanitation and hygiene standards. Realizing that the company needed external help to complete this task, Cerealia sent its own specialists to USAID-funded courses conducted by the International Institute for Food Safety and Quality, respected globally for its expertise in the food safety field. Cerealia then asked institute staff to consult the company as it adapted its systems. With a great deal of dedication and with help from the consultants, Cerealia succeeded in complying with the major international food regulations.

Now, Cerealia Ukraine has become a supplier to McDonald’s Ukraine. Another globally known food company, Kraft Foods., is showing interest in Cerealia Ukraine’s products, and negotiations on supply details are underway. After inspecting Cerealia’s facilities, Kraft Foods auditors certified that Cerealia’s food safety system complied with the company’s criteria.

Compliance with safety standards has opened many doors for Cerealia and boosted its sales, too. The company increased sales by 18 percent in 2005, and in 2006 the company aims to increase its output capacity by 30 percent. It also hopes to launch a new pasta processing department.

Although the road to a competitive, efficient business environment in Ukraine is still long, with help from USAID, companies are gaining the tools they need to get there.

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From Decay Grows New Opportunity

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Volunteer helps farmers decrease dependence on imported compost.

The Association of Mushroom Producers in central and western Ukraine helps its more than 150 members to pool resources in order to improve production, access more lucrative markets and increase incomes.

One problem that the association members face is a serious lack of affordable compost–essential for growing mushrooms–on the domestic market. While mushrooms in the wild can grow on a tree or a dead log, in commercial production, compost composed of wood chips, coffee grounds, manure and other substances provide the mushrooms with the nitrogen and carbohydrates needed.

Due to a lack of commercially available compost in Ukraine, compost is usually imported from Poland or Russia at a price twice that of domestically produced compost. This has created an opportunity in Ukraine for enterprising mushroom growers to cut their costs by producing their own compost.

A volunteer from a USAID farmer assistance program, Ralph Kurtzman, traveled to Ukraine to help the association with compost production. Ralph made a wide variety of recommendations that together have the potential to both cut costs and improve the mushroom growers’ production.

His recommendations addressed the members’ need to change their watering and compost disposal methods to increase productivity, as well as to control diseases. If the members follow Ralph’s recommendations, they stand to gain by lowering production costs.

Diagnosing the problem and making efforts to overcome it through technical volunteer expertise is the first step to increasing profits and expanding mushroom production in Ukraine. Volunteer Omon Isikhuemhen provided the association with further guidance, following up on Ralph’s recommendations, as well as explored the possibility of producing exotic mushrooms (such as shiitake) in Ukraine. Volunteer Ahmed Awad also made a follow-up visit, sharing his expertise in new methods of mushroom preparation and packinghouse construction and operations.

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Adopting Standards Brings Growth to Business

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Challenge
Aquavit, a Ukrainian fish-processing plant in Ilyichevsk City, had reached a crossroads for its future. The company could either focus on the Ukrainian market, where it had an edge by implementing a less expensive short-term plan or invest in a long-term plan that would allow it to develop export markets and strengthen its position in the local market. To break out of the Ukrainian market, Aquavit had to implement international standards such as the Good Management Practice (GMP) and the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Initiative
USAID funded training for Aquavit personnel in HACCP and helped them develop a HACCP plan to address food-safety and quality-control issues. The plan underwent a technical audit conducted by a Louisiana State University AgCenter seafood specialist who found that costly microbiological testing along the entire food processing line did not allow Aquavit to address food quality issues, and at times, the company marketed food that was unsafe.

Aquavit implemented the HAACP audit results by reconstructing and expanding their facility. The plant was equipped with modern fish-processing equipment and a second production line was added that doubled Aquavit’s capacity. The plant was reconstructed according to HACCP requirements. Special attention was paid to improving product and process record-keeping, putting in tile floors and walls in place of concrete, and increasing the number of daily floor and wall washes.

Results
Now that Aquavit could deliver products which met international standards through the adoption of HACCP, the company doubled its production capacity. This enabled Aquavit to increase local market share by 20% and enter export markets in Romania and Moldova. In 2003, production increased by 400 tons per month, leading to an increased annual demand for raw materials totaling $4.5 million. Over the year, additional sales reached $9 million and a gross profit of $4.5 million. The plant expansion led to creation of more than sixty new jobs, and new employees earned approximately $95,000 in wages during the first year. The company plans to increase its market share in all three countries, and in the future to expand to other Black Sea markets.

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Dairy Workers Boost Product Safety

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Business development and new equipment help dairies and processors comply with international standards.

As Julja Idrizi locks her arms around the calf’s middle, a student grabs it by the horns, buying enough time for another student to stick a needleful of vaccine into its hindquarters. “It takes six months of practice before they can do everything right,” says Julja of the farmers and students she trains to take care of dairy cows. But her business, H&H Farms in Shtime/Stimlje (the town’s Albanian/Serbian names), Kosovo, depends on farmers doing things right; her milk processor, Devolli, will only buy quality-tested milk.

Processors like Devolli are driving the pace of change in Kosovo’s dairy sector. If processors can bring down costs, raise quality and diversify products, they can displace imports–which currently make up 90 percent of the domestic market–and compete in regional markets. But first, producers like Julja must comply with international standards.

With USAID assistance, Julja traveled to Albania and Macedonia for the needed equipment and cleaning supplies to improve production and ensure milk safety. USAID also helped her develop a business plan for H&H Farms, obtain an initial loan and improve feed for the herd.

USAID has also helped ABI, a dairy processor in Prizren, develop and market new products, such as flavored yogurt and whey. Now, ABI has undertaken an ambitious program to implement two international food safety protocols–GMP and HAACP. “We’re not waiting until we’re required,” says ABI owner Irfan Fusha. “Our children consume these products. We want them to be safe.” Once ABI has put the prescribed practices in place, the plant can be audited and certified as compliant by a licensed quality inspector–and begin exporting to the European Union.

Irfan would like to expand production, but it’s complicated. “Everything is linked,” he says. “If you buy more equipment, you have to hire more employees, arrange for more incubation and storage space, increase marketing and distribution.” He churns his hands, conjuring the future. “Everything needs to happen at the same time.”

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Nicaragua taps into water management

Monday, December 29th, 2008


By Rick D’Elia

Beneath the daily downpour, Eligio Machado Rizo stands knee-deep in a muddy ditch in the impoverished northern highlands of Nicaragua. Eligio is president of the potable water committee in Potrerillo, a town in Esteli department. He and a crew of neighbors set up a new 1-inch pipeline that will bring potable water to six rural homes and a school downslope from a natural water source.

Until recently, water technologies have been out of reach for the rural poor of Nicaragua. Lingering effects of war, recent natural disasters and droughts also combined to limit water access.

In October 2007, CRS and local partners launched a five-year program that protects poor people from the effects of drought, flooding and other emergencies affecting their water supply. It does this by installing dams and pipes, building soil and water conservation structures, and teaching water management. CRS supplies expertise and supplies while local committees provide volunteer labor to complete installations.

The program helped the Potrerillo committee build a natural rock filtration system that collects runoff from the slopes above the village and fills a large concrete storage tank which in turn feeds the homes and school.

“In some communities people were drinking irrigation water, so they are grateful to be receiving clean water that is filtered at the source for human consumption,” explains Jorge Castellon, CRS coordinator for the program. “Before, women went to the nearest river to wash their clothes and take a bath, but now they can wash at home.”

Clean Water, Healthy Homes

Each water committee pays for maintenance and repairs to the system by collecting a monthly fee for usage. Residents pay 50 cents for up to 9,000 liters, and 25 cents for each additional 1,000 liters. The volume is monitored by water meters installed outside each home.

CRS is working with three local partners—Fundación de Investigacion y Desarrollo Rural (Research and Rural Development Foundation) in Esteli, Caritas of Matagalpa and Caritas of Jinotega—to reach 3,751 families or 19,445 people in seven communities.

As waterlines make their way to some homes, other residents of the highlands construct or rehabilitate wells for water fit for human consumption. They also maintain reservoirs to keep cattle and crops hydrated during the dry season. Meanwhile, the program is preserving natural and water resources, conserving soil and promoting reforestation by planting hand-raised trees around the reservoirs and existing watercourses.

The program also improves cleanliness and sanitation in homes by building latrines, instituting better garbage management, and teaching better housecleaning techniques to keep pollutants out of homes and water resources. The program further encourages greater participation by making spot checks to grade the cleanliness of homes. Each month, the local program coordinators award “Healthiest Home” baskets of cleaning supplies and nonperishable food items to the highest-scoring families.

Rural residents who have long felt ignored by the outside world are grateful for the program, says Castellon.

“What the program does is provide a menu of projects for a population in need: latrines, water, reforestation. It is gratifying to know that in several years we will have tangible results in the project.”

Rick D’Elia is an Arizona-based photographer and writer. He has documented CRS projects in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Uganda. On his most recent trip he visited CRS programs in Brazil and Nicaragua.

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Climate Station Bears New Fruit

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Daily weather updates by mobile, e-mail enable farmers to shield crops.

Like farmers worldwide, fruit growers in the city of Velika Gorica, near Zagreb, struggle with adverse conditions that affect production and quality, such as heavy rain, hail, frost, insects and plant diseases. The Bubamara Association of Fruit Producers has been providing agriculture advice to local farmers since 1998. Amid its efforts to help farmers produce a healthier product through an integrated fruit production system it developed, it realized it needed a modern climate station that could serve as an early warning system for farmers.

With USAID assistance, local farmers now receive advance warning by mobile phone and e-mail about all weather changes, allowing them time to protect their orchards. According to Franjo Me’trovic, president of the Bubamara Association, “We noticed that our members took the issue of protecting their plants more seriously after we installed the climate station. During our regular visits and monitoring, we saw how our members devoted themselves to integrated fruit production.”

As a service to non-association members and other interested individuals, the association also disseminates the climate station’s data on teletext through public television. It estimates that approximately 1,000 local fruit farmers receive daily updates on weather and plant diseases. Robert Crep, the Association’s agriculture advisor, said, “We had a vision. I knew what we needed to ensure integrated fruit production among our members. We realized that by obtaining the climate station a great deal of our problems would be solved.”

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Nicaragua taps into water management

Monday, December 29th, 2008


By Rick D’Elia

Beneath the daily downpour, Eligio Machado Rizo stands knee-deep in a muddy ditch in the impoverished northern highlands of Nicaragua. Eligio is president of the potable water committee in Potrerillo, a town in Esteli department. He and a crew of neighbors set up a new 1-inch pipeline that will bring potable water to six rural homes and a school downslope from a natural water source.

Until recently, water technologies have been out of reach for the rural poor of Nicaragua. Lingering effects of war, recent natural disasters and droughts also combined to limit water access.

In October 2007, CRS and local partners launched a five-year program that protects poor people from the effects of drought, flooding and other emergencies affecting their water supply. It does this by installing dams and pipes, building soil and water conservation structures, and teaching water management. CRS supplies expertise and supplies while local committees provide volunteer labor to complete installations.

The program helped the Potrerillo committee build a natural rock filtration system that collects runoff from the slopes above the village and fills a large concrete storage tank which in turn feeds the homes and school.

“In some communities people were drinking irrigation water, so they are grateful to be receiving clean water that is filtered at the source for human consumption,” explains Jorge Castellon, CRS coordinator for the program. “Before, women went to the nearest river to wash their clothes and take a bath, but now they can wash at home.”

Clean Water, Healthy Homes

Each water committee pays for maintenance and repairs to the system by collecting a monthly fee for usage. Residents pay 50 cents for up to 9,000 liters, and 25 cents for each additional 1,000 liters. The volume is monitored by water meters installed outside each home.

CRS is working with three local partners—Fundación de Investigacion y Desarrollo Rural (Research and Rural Development Foundation) in Esteli, Caritas of Matagalpa and Caritas of Jinotega—to reach 3,751 families or 19,445 people in seven communities.

As waterlines make their way to some homes, other residents of the highlands construct or rehabilitate wells for water fit for human consumption. They also maintain reservoirs to keep cattle and crops hydrated during the dry season. Meanwhile, the program is preserving natural and water resources, conserving soil and promoting reforestation by planting hand-raised trees around the reservoirs and existing watercourses.

The program also improves cleanliness and sanitation in homes by building latrines, instituting better garbage management, and teaching better housecleaning techniques to keep pollutants out of homes and water resources. The program further encourages greater participation by making spot checks to grade the cleanliness of homes. Each month, the local program coordinators award “Healthiest Home” baskets of cleaning supplies and nonperishable food items to the highest-scoring families.

Rural residents who have long felt ignored by the outside world are grateful for the program, says Castellon.

“What the program does is provide a menu of projects for a population in need: latrines, water, reforestation. It is gratifying to know that in several years we will have tangible results in the project.”

Rick D’Elia is an Arizona-based photographer and writer. He has documented CRS projects in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Uganda. On his most recent trip he visited CRS programs in Brazil and Nicaragua.

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New Way Of Doing Business For Dairy Processor

Monday, December 29th, 2008

USAID program provides critical management practices training in Albania.

Ferdinand Gjata began his business after the communist regime in Albania fell in 1991. The dairy industry was non-existent then with individual farmers processing their own products and selling only at the local level. Ferdinand was one of the first dairy processors to sign up with USAID’s Land O’ Lakes Good Management Practices program. Ferdinand, along with many others throughout Albania, have benefited from USAID’s assistance. With improved sanitation and hygiene conditions, they are consistently producing high quality products and are able to maintain a profit level above their expectations.

The economic restructuring program in Albania has introduced new technology to the dairy industry along with increased employment, sales, capacity and profitability. With the interest and the initiative for improved dairy quality, the country will soon export their high quality products in the near future. Now Ferdinand collects from over 800 farmers and distributes milk products like cheese, yogurt and milk to over 180 stores in the capital city of Tirana.

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Battleground Becomes Pineapple Grove

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Lands that were once unproductive are now providing new income.

Mayor Aniceto P. Lopez Jr. of Maasim, a town in Sarangani province in Mindanao, had a dream: he wanted his people to become economically productive and lead peaceful lives. He knew that the area’s abundant natural resources could play a major role in helping him achieve this dream. However, the lush forests that once covered the area had all but disappeared, and fields that could have been used for farming had instead served as a battleground between government soldiers and rebels.

Mayor Lopez realized that Maasim needed a comprehensive land use policy to address this problem, and he turned to USAID for assistance. Working together, the local government of Maasim and USAID drafted the Maasim Forest Land Use Plan – a guide for forest land usage and land allocation. The plan empowered local officials to identify areas of land that would be attractive to private investors for cultivation.

The plan quickly proved to be successful. The California-based Dole Food Company reviewed Maasim’s land use policies and decided to invest locally, thereby helping to transform abandoned fields into pineapple groves. When asked about the influx of private investment, Mayor Lopez said, “I can’t believe this is really happening. Every time I come here to the plantations, I am always amazed at the rate of development taking place.”

Private investment has also helped diffuse social tensions in the community. The Mayor recently met with rebel commanders in the area and explained how encouraging investments could generate jobs and improve the quality of life for them and the whole community. He even persuaded some to lay down their arms. “I told them I would work hard to alleviate their economic situation,” he said.

Economic conditions in Maasim are improving, but the Maasim Forest Land Use Plan stipulates that development not lead to an exhaustion of natural resources. “It will be a balanced development,” Mayor Lopez said. “We will take care of our people, but we will also make sure that we will not degrade our resources.” The example of Maasim town has demonstrated that with effective land management, everyone benefits: the community, the investors, and even the environment.

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Fish Tales: Motivating Sustainable Harvests

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Improving management of fisheries in the Philippines.

The Philippines is experiencing a tremendous dilemma in the developing world. Although located in the marine world’s highest diversity of coral reefs, the country’s fishing industry finds its coastal fishers battling poverty, its fisheries in decline, and habitat destruction resulting from unsustainable fishing practices. Maintaining profitable fishery harvests amidst areas where over 70% of the coastal fishing grounds are reported to be overexploited is daunting.

USAID’s Fisheries Improved for Sustainable Harvest (FISH) project is helping fishers in the Philippines by assigning an independent team to asses the current fishing industry challenges and to recommend good fisheries management practices. The project sites are situated in four strategic fishing grounds that also are important biodiversity conservation areas – the Danajon bank in Bohol, the Calamianes islands in Palawan, the northern coastal bays areas of Surigao del Sur, and the areas around Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Aside from managing fishing efforts, the project is providing for creative and innovative ways of harmonizing biodiversity conservation with increased fisheries production. FISH is establishing baseline information on fisheries and related resources as a basis for measuring impacts for project-influenced interventions, as well as to better understand resource dynamics and exploitation risks. Participatory planning and implementation are the fundamental strategies to ensure ownership and sustainability. The provision of expert coaching and guidance to the implementers is likewise a key approach in this project, particularly in introducing and establishing best practices in fisheries management.

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