Half of food exporters still need 'major' assistance
Published:Wednesday | January 25, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
Food Safety Modernisation Coordinator Beverley Miller said Monday that the latest assessment of food exporters shows that close to half are still in need of major assistance to conform to the stricter trading regime imposed by the United States (US).
The inspections of facilities involved in food export are being carried out under the US Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) which imposes new standards on food entering the US market effective January 1.
Miller said that while "the state of readiness changes as companies continue to implement food safety preventive systems", 15.5 per cent or 13 of 84 firms assessed are ready for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections.
Another 40.5 per cent or 34 plants are sufficiently advanced to be able to meet the requirements.
But: "The remaining 44 per cent are in need of major assistance," the coordinator told Wednesday Business.
The government last year launched a J$100 million programme offering loans to ready the sector — most of the companies were said to be unprepared to trade under the FSMA - saying it needed to safeguard what is currently a J$10 billion export market.
The food safety unit is part of the national task force helping companies qualify to do business with the US under the new law. They operate from a secretariat established within the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ).
Last year, the ministry said there were about 160 companies in need of assistance, but yesterday Miller gave a new figure of about 90.
The Ministry of Industry said last year that the FDA would visit 50 of the food-processing and packaging facilities, to be followed by a report of the audits with recommendations for corrective action.
Process suspended
The process was suspended in early November after Anthony Hylton, then the opposition spokesman on industry and commerce, alleged that some exporters had been banned from trading - a charge that was denied by then Minister Christopher Tufton and the US Embassy in Kingston.
Hylton, who is now the minister of industry, investment and commerce, said Monday that the position of the ministry on the FDA programme under way will be reviewed and new decisions taken at a two-day retreat planned for the first week in February. He was responding more broadly to queries on priorities for his ministry, to which he was assigned on January 6.
The BSJ, in the meantime, said the FDA inspections would resume this month.
The "inspections which began in November, when one packing house was inspected, will continue this month end with inspections of five ackee-processing firms and three packing houses will be carried out as of January 31," Miller told Wednesday Business.
The coordinator stressed that such inspections are not new to Jamaican companies.
"Canned ackees in brine were allowed back into the USA some 12 years ago only after the FDA had determined that the product was being processed under a preventive system for assuring food safety. Since then, the FDA carries out periodic inspections to ensure that the system is being maintained and continues to be effective," Miller said.
Regarding the inspection of packing houses under the FSMA, the FDA will be collecting baseline information on fresh-produce production in Jamaica, Miller said.
Meantime, a number of private and public sector laboratories have capabilities and have been carrying out the requisite tests on food products.
"Many are now preparing themselves to be accredited so that their results will be deemed acceptable by the USA when testing by an accredited laboratory is mandated after January 2013," Miller said.
The lack of accreditation for Jamaican labs was identified last year as a potential complicating factor for food safety tests.
Miller said the current activities of the committee formed to oversee the process of exporter certification include giving assistance in sourcing funds to enable both public and private sectors to upgrade to the required level and "keeping abreast of rule-making by the FDA to allow for Jamaica's participation through submitting comments prior to the enactment of regulations."
The food safety task force and secretariat, housed at the BSJ, is also engaged in "preliminary work towards the establishment of a 'corporate' mentorship programme to assist smaller companies in need of development and liaising with companies regarding the engagement of consultants to assist with implementation of food safety systems," the coordinator said.