Nigeria Market Food Safety & Quality Management Systems Capacity Building Program

Overview
Background
Any small, medium and/or less developed food / beverage manufacturing businesses, often because of their size, lack of technical expertise, economic resources or the nature of their work encounter difficulties in getting proper guidance & subsequent implementation of food safety & quality management systems in their business. This results in loss of market opportunities within formal supply chains where entry requirements are high. 3T Consultancy, Nigeria has identified the need for such technical assistance and can provide support for small and/or less developed businesses in the development of their food safety & quality management systems. Small, Medium and/or less developed businesses (SMLDBs) refers to the status of the business food safety & quality management systems, thereby particularly addressing businesses who encounter difficulties in implementing such desired management systems within their business, rather than to the number of staff or volume of production. Our experienced team has developed voluntary food safety & quality requirements in the form of a checklist and a protocol to drive the continuous improvement process in such management systems. The programs objective is to facilitate market access locally, create mutual acceptance along the supply chain and provide a framework for mentoring these businesses to achieve better results.

Overview
Its tiered approach to certification allows for individuals responsible for food safety within their companies to put into place a systematic action plan that can be implemented over a realistic period of time. Furthermore, it will reassure their customers that they are developing effective food safety programs that will help reduce or mitigate food safety risks. The program has been developed with as its scope local sourcing for local selling, however the possibility of export opportunities arising from the program is one of the long-term objectives of the initiative.

Content
The program is comprised of: Basic and Intermediate Level Checklists and an Assessment Summary (detailing the requirements and the complete report) Basic and Intermediate Level Assessor Guideline Protocol and Flow Chart to guide users through the steps of the program

Steps to Certification
The tiered approach to certification is as follows: Phase 1: A self-assessment is carried out by the business itself against Basic and/or Intermediate level checklist to allow the business to decide its entry level to the programme. Subject to the outcome of the self-assessment, the business should pass to either phase 2 (Basic Level Assessment), phase 3 (Intermediate Level Assessment), or phase 4 (certification against a GFSI recognised scheme). Phase 2: An unaccredited assessment of a business is carried out against the Basic Level Checklist. The technical requirements at this level are comprised of 30% of the key elements of the GFSI Guidance Document, including Food Safety Systems, Good Manufacturing / Agricultural Practices and Control of Food Hazards. Phase 3: An unaccredited assessment of a business is carried out against Intermediate Level Checklist, which include the Basic Level Requirements, a further 40% of the GFSI Guidance Document elements, and the Codex Alimentarius Standard CAC/RCP 1-1969 Rev 4-2003. Both steps are voluntary, meaning that the business can decide at which entry level they will start: Basic or Intermediate. Phase 4: The official accredited certification against one of the GFSI recognized schemes. A protocol has been developed to guide businesses through the program. It provides guidance for implementation of the Basic and Intermediate Level food safety requirements to attain the goal of reaching full certification against a GFSI recognized scheme. The ultimate aim of the Global Markets Capacity Building Programme is that adopting the protocol will reduce the burden of obtaining immediate certification to seemingly complex, established schemes by providing a pathway that businesses can progress along in a systematic way.