RAJSHAHI, April 27, 2018 (BSS)- Highest importance should be given on boosting the number of competent workforce for ensuring good handling practices for making the certain of safe processed products, according to some experts concerned.
Sharing his expertise on the issue Dr Hamim Reza, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), opined that safe processed food is very vital to free the public health from various non-communicable diseases.
This is the high time of expanding knowledge on various good handling practice issues like pest and diseases identification and management, use of ripening materials and residual effect of chemical, health related problems and overall impact on food safety, personal hygiene, cross contamination, prevention and sanitation and symptom of food borne diseases.
He was addressing the closing session of a two-day training of trainers titled “Good Handling Practices: How are they helpful for the supply chain actors for safe process products of tomato and mango” at Pran Agro-processing Limited on Thursday afternoon.
SNV Netherlands Development Organization with financial support of European Commission hosted the course under “Improving consumer awareness and access to certified safe tomato and mango products in Bangladesh” project.
Additional Director of Department of Agricultural Extension Mostafizur Rahman and its Deputy Directors Joynal Abedeen and Rafiqul Islam addressed the session as guests of honour. SNV Project Coordinator Mahbub Ullah moderated the discussion.
BARI Senior Scientific Officer Dr Sorof Uddin, PRAN Senior Manager SM Kamruzzaman and SNV Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor Dr Rajwanul Haque and its Food Safety Advisor Mahe Alam disseminated their expertise on the issue.
Mostafizur Rahman emphasized on learning about the contamination to address the related issue and utilize these technologies properly to ensure safety aspects of processed products of tomato and mango. He also mentioned that it is the responsibility of all to work for food safety to be a prosperous nation in the world.
In the training, the participants were given ideas on pathogens, traceability and record keeping, mango harvesting materials, post-harvest disease management, grading, sorting, storage, cleaning, washing, packaging, loading, transportation, unloading, quality assessment procedures and marketing.
Large number of Field staff, quality controllers, logistic staff, Hub- leaders and suppliers from PRAN, Kishwan and Sajeeb agro processing companies joined the training.
Afterwards, the trainers will guide the other supply chain actors and 10,000 mango and tomato farmers in safe produce and handling of processed products of mango and tomato, who are the beneficiaries.