The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional
Integration and Employment (MOTIE) handed over certificates of Hazardous
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) to 5 SMEs as well as certificates
of participation to other institutions and individuals in the training
programmes.
The handing-over ceremony was held at the
MOTIE on Thursday in Banjul.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy
Permanent Secretary of MOTIE, Fatim Njie, said that over the years, the Trade
Ministry has been striving to assist enterprises to meet HACCP requirements to help
them secure access to overseas markets for their exports.
“Recognizing the relatively small size of
the domestic market in The Gambia, significant growth in the economy would
benefit from sustained export development. However, the main export constraints
as identified in the diagnostic trade integration study include meeting
overseas market requirements,” she said.
In order to satisfy food safety in
production, processing, transport and distribution of food products, this
Ministry through the Enhanced Integrated Framework had identified food
processing enterprises and trained them under the HACCP process, after long
process of the training and conducting HACCP audits with the assistance of
international certifying bodies, as five enterprises complied with HACCP code
2003.
“I hope that these enterprises will make
the best use of their certification and exploit market opportunities,” she
said.
In his address at the ceremony, Trade
Minister Abdoulie Jobe said the HACCP process was driven by the Ministry through
agro-sector specific support for cashew nuts, groundnuts and sesame under the
Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) sector competitiveness and export
diversification project implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC).
“I must confirm that this is a landmark
achievement in the history of international trade in The Gambia as this is the
first time Gambian enterprises are able to reach HACCP certification. The aim
is to secure new export opportunities; product diversification; improved
value-addition; quality enhancement and strengthening sector support
institutions to improve incomes of farmers and firms along the value chain.”
Minister Jobe added that the HACCP system
brings numerous benefits to these enterprises such as risks of processing and
selling unsafe products for human consumption and risk of accidental
contamination which will in turn generate consumer confidence.
He said being HACCP certified will also
bring the benefit of complying with local and international requirements for
target markets on food, health and safety “since many countries have adopted
HACCP in their food regulations as mandatory requirements to access their
markets”.
“I urge enterprises to take minimum
advantage of the HACCP certification and exploit further market access
opportunities and urge the trainers cum counselors who have been trained to
promote and sustain the HACCP implementation in ensuring that other Gambian
enterprises are able to benefit from this type of training,” he said.
The Trade minister also thanked the
International Trade Centre for their cooperation and assistance in taking
Gambian enterprises through the HACCP certification process.
