Food for Thought: Ensuring Safety in Myanmar’s Food Sector

April 15, 2019

More than 60% of Myanmar’s industry is comprised of the food sector. As the industry continues to grow rapidly, adoption of food safety practices becomes crucial. Project AWARE: Raising food safety awareness within the crop industrial processing sector in Myanmar, implemented by ASSIST with co-financing from Bureau Veritas and KfW DEG, aims to improve food safety and quality control practices in Myanmar.

Gap assessment visits in the factories of Mandalay and Shwebo cities were facilitated early this year. After the assessments, recommendations and action plans to improve food safety and sanitation systems were provided to the factories.

Project AWARE also introduced the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in the local food sector. HACCP is a food safety management system used to reduce the risk of safety hazards in food, while GMP is a system that ensure food products consistently undergo quality and safety measures.

In the next quarter, a case study booklet will be created, containing results derived from the project. A closing forum will also be organized to showcase the impact of the project, and raise awareness on food safety as well.