Good Hygiene Practices along the coffee chain
The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene –
Primary Production
Module 3.1
Slide 2 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Objectives
Introduce trainees to the importance of identifying and controlling food safety hazards in primary production with specific reference to the coffee chain
To identify steps in the primary production of coffee where control can prevent food safety hazards
To establish the role of government and the importance of Codex Alimentarius in the control of contaminants and other undesirable substances in foods
Slide 3 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Content
Scope, outline and objectives of Section III of Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, ‘Primary Production’
Application of food hygiene principles to the primary production of coffee
Regulatory guidelines and measures to promote safe primary production
Slide 4 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Section III – Primary production
Codex definition of primary production:
‘...those steps in the food chain up to and including, for example, harvesting, slaughter, milking, fishing.’
Growing HarvestingTransport to location for further processing
Dry or wet processing of coffeeSteps being covered in this presentation
Slide 5 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Section III – Primary production
Objective of Section III Primary production should be managed in a
way that ensures that food is safe and suitable for its intended use
Identify steps in the primary production where food safety hazards could be introduced. Emphasise controls at points most at risk
Slide 6 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Outline of Section III Codex GPFH – Primary Production
3.1 - Environmental hygiene 3.2 - Hygienic production of food sources 3.3 - Handling, storage and transport 3.4 - Cleaning, maintenance and personal
hygiene at primary production
Remember it is a general code and certain provisions may not be relevant in any given
situation
Slide 7 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Environmental hygiene
Food production should not be carried out in areas where the presence of potentially harmful substances would lead to an unacceptable level of such substances in food
CAC/RCP 49-2001 deals with environmental chemical contamination
Emphasises avoidance of contaminated areas and measures to control environmental pollution
Slide 8 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Environmental hygiene
Environmental contaminants that could potentially become food-borne hazards Heavy metals in soil, naturally present or through
environmental degradation, can be assimilated into plant tissues (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, etc)
A 1996 survey in France showed no unacceptable levels of heavy metals in coffee
No reported problems of other environmental contaminants, such as persistent organohalogens, in coffee
Moulds producing OTA are widely distributed and cannot be avoided but we can avoid practices that increase
likelihood of contamination...
Slide 9 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Hygienic production of food sources
Includes identifying points in primary production activities where a high probability of contamination exists and taking specific measures to minimise that probability
Codex Code of Practice for the reduction of mycotoxin contamination in cereals provides further useful guidance in building prevention programmes for coffee, covering Planting, pre-harvest, harvest, storage, transport Incorporation of HACCP principles
Slide 10 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Growing coffee (cropping systems)
Open coffee field Coffee intercropped with banana
Coffee and groundnut
Coffee grown under permanent shade
Slide 11 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Growing coffee (cropping systems)
No relation has been established between contamination and cropping systems
Such relations are difficult to establish due to the large number of variables and degree of natural variation
Coffee intercropped with pepper
Slide 12 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Farm management practices
Drop system fertilisation and
irrigation
Weeding
Mulching Spraying
Slide 13 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Agricultural practices in OTA reduction programmes
The farm survey did not reveal any significant correlation between contamination and Inter cropping Fertilizer or other soil treatments Weed management practices
The global project focussed mostly on post-production practices in the control of OTA contamination
Correlations with production practices may exist. This can be the subject of future research. Capacity building activities within the global project allow national centres to continue applied research components of their coffee development programmes
Slide 14 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Agricultural practices in OTA reduction programmes
Effective pest management may play a role in OTA prevention
Preliminary evidence that CBB can spread OTA-OTA producing fungi
Further investigations are being conducted
Preliminary work has shown higher levels of OTA contamination in out-sorted CBB damaged beans than in sound beans from the same batch
Sound Damaged
2,2 ppb0,2 ppb
24,5 ppb1,0 ppb
Slide 15 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Pest management
Good practices in the control of CBB can also help prevent OTA contamination Trapping Biological control with
parasitoids and fungi Spraying Removal and sanitary disposal
of fallen cherries
Slide 16 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Agricultural practices in OTA reduction programmes
Only use well composted pulp for mulching and manuring - including earthworms gives a superior compost
Remove by-products from processing / drying areas Assure run-off from processing does not create a
pollution problem
By-products from processing:
Pulp and HuskGood medium and source of spores
‘Elimination of fungal vectors in the vicinity of crop’
Slide 17 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Agricultural practices in OTA reduction programmes
Further work completed to investigate impact of composting procedures on propagation of
OTA-producing mould
Composting in a pit
Use of worms in composting
‘Elimination of fungal vectors in the vicinity of crop’
Slide 18 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Good practices in coffee production
OTA content in samples after 12 days of drying (Uganda, July
2002)
Some indications regarding stage of maturity
Maturity stagesOTA (ppb)
Beans
Husk
Immature cherriesRipe cherriesOverripe cherries
0.30.62.1
2.626.759.3
Slide 19 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Maturity at harvest: quality and safety implications
Some indications regarding stage of maturity
From a ‘coffee quality’ perspective, the use of immature cherries should be avoided
Removal of over-ripe cherries during sorting might be useful OTA-prevention measure
Avoid harvesting of cherries from the soil
‘Tree dried’ cherries in arid zones do not appear to increase risk
Slide 20 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Maturity at harvest: quality and safety implications
Use picking mats To avoid collection of old cherries
from the ground To reduce contamination with soil
Sweep ground to remove old fallen cherry before harvesting
Select cherries at optimal stage of maturity
Sort out and dispose of unsound fruit
Selective picking
Use of harvesting mats
Slide 21 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Impact of harvesting practices
Cherries harvested from the ground can be
highly contaminated by OTA-producing mould
XWinnowing of fallen
cherries
Slide 22 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Impact of ‘storage’ of cherries
Delays between harvesting of cherries and drying should be kept to a minimum
‘Common examples of BAD practice on many farms’
Heaping in the orchard Storage on the farm
Slide 23 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Impact of ‘storage’ of cherries
Heaping in the orchard
Storage on the farm
Unintentional No room for drying or
processing Lack of labour for transport Poor organisation of harvest
Reasons often given for fresh cherry storage Drying is faster Easier to pulp and to ferment
‘Fresh cherries should NEVER be stored’
Slide 24 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Cleaning, maintenance and personnel hygiene at primary production
Any necessary cleaning and maintenance is carried out effectively Clean bags for the transport of fresh
cherries (avoid bags used previously to transport dry cherries or husks)
Elimination of fungal vectors in the vicinity
Slide 25 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Role of government
Provide guidance to primary producers Direct training Preparation of risk-based
guidelines Development and dissemination
of educational materials
Slide 26 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Role of government
To establish regulatory and control programmes Coffee quality and safety standards and codes of
practice Regulations concerning distribution and use of
pesticides and other chemicals in coffee production Regulations to ensure compliance with required
standards and practices Financial and human resources to effectively
implement regulations Monitoring and surveillance programmes for
proactive control
Slide 27 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Summary
Guided by Codex GPFH we have identified points in primary production of coffee where hazards might be introduced
We have identified means of controlling the food safety hazards
We have considered government’s role is ensuring that safe coffee is produced
Growing of coffee
Harvesting of coffee
Transport to place of further
processing
Dryprocessing
Wetprocessing
Pulping Drying
Slide 28 Module 3.1 – The Codex
General Principles of Food Hygiene – Primary Production
Next steps…
Reflect, discuss, ask questions... Next module - Establishment: design and
facilities
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