More export businesses in Vanuatu are set to benefit from a partnership signed between the Australia and New Zealand supported Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (or PHAMA Plus) Programme and the Vanuatu Bureau of Standards (VBS).
Through this partnership, PHAMA Plus will work with VBS to help export oriented businesses to develop their food safety and hygiene systems and to have their facilities accredited to an internationally recognised quality assurance system.
The parties have agreed to help these businesses improve their food safety systems and to obtain HACCP certification. Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP, is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, physical hazards that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. The HACCP system can be used at all stages of a food supply chain, from production and preparation through to packaging, and distribution.
The partnership further re-enforces the VBS’ mandate to support industry to improve processes and product quality to facilitate market access. It will improve business understanding on the importance of product quality assurance, certification and traceability
Vanuatu Bureau of Standards Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ruth Amos confirmed that the partnership will help the VBS conduct inspections and provide recommendations on improving export facilities to meet HACCP requirements.
“One of the Bureau’s functions is to help industries attain HACCP or any other quality assurance systems,” Amos said.
“We’re pleased to formalize this partnership with PHAMA Plus to continue our work on management of standards and conformance, particularly to assist industries improve their capacity in the area of quality control and quality assurance of their processes & products and develop HACCP or international food safety systems.”
HACCP certification remains a costly expense and a barrier to trade for exporters. Through this collaboration, PHAMA Plus will support the Bureau to conduct inspections and to provide recommendations on improving export facilities to meet the requirements of HACCP.
“We see the support to exporters to maintaining their certification as a matter of high importance,” says PHAMA Plus Senior National Facilitator Vanuatu Rebecca Bogiri.
“We aim to increase the export of cocoa and kava produce from Vanuatu that consistently meet the quality specifications of importing countries. The support from PHAMA Plus and VBS is basically to improve the efficiency of our export trade and ultimately bring more financial benefit to both our exporters and farmers.”
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