In keeping with the provisions of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Mahintana Foundation Inc. conducted a GMP orientation on June 14, 2017 at MFI conference room attended by 4 staff of Nutripan-Koronadal, 2 staff from LGU Koronadal’s Nutrition Office and 3 staff of MFI. The primary objectives of the training interventions include: (a) To improve the participants’ knowledge and understanding of food safety and (b) To assist them in developing and implementing systems to manage food safety hazards.
According to Mr. Jay Hijos, Health Officer of Cannery Multi-purpose Cooperative (CAMPCO), GMP are the basic steps for food or bakery industry to ensure that products are free from contamination and any food safety hazards. He also emphasized on the importance of maintaining cleanliness and observing disease control safety for the personnel. Adhering to these procedures require the staff to establish quality management systems, obtain high-quality raw materials, establish operating procedures, detect and investigate potential problems with product quality, and maintain nutritious breads. The team were also taught how to use the fire extinguisher and oriented on pest control methods.
The staff actively participated during the discussion which made the activity engaging and interactive. It was agreed that Mr. Hijos will conduct a safety inspection to the Nutripan-Koronadal building to monitor if the staff have implemented the rules and regulations based on the GMP orientation.
Mahintana continues to scale up the success of the Nutripan Project by expanding its coverage in Koronadal city and Surralah municipality. It has partnered with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to implement the Nutripan BREAD (Business for Rural Economy and Agriculture Development) project which aims to improve access to healthy and nutritious snack foods among children in the school and communities.