Implementation of Food Safety Management at Industry Level in Developing Countries : is GMP /HACCP Confusing?

Abstract

Food safety management system built on a sound GMP /GHP and HACCP has been introduced and its implementation has shown to improve food quality and safety. The system is readily adopted by large industries ; however, small enterprises have many difficulties in implementing food safety management. In developing count ries, in which most of the food industries are of small scale, implementation of food safety management system is still lacking. Several reasons underlying such problems were lack of infrastructures such as water, cold chain etc. and human resources. Other factors that may have interfered the implementation of GMP and especially HACCP is lack of understanding of the HACCP philosophy. In non-English speaking countries, language can be a barrier for understanding the HACCP principles. Additional constraints such as behavior or perception may also hamper the implementation of HACCP. This paper will discuss several problems in implementing GMP /HACCP in developng country and issues regarding misconceptions and confusions that may occur during implementation of GMP and HACCP principles. Several case studies pertaining the implementation of GMP /HACCP in Indonesia will also be presented