Food industry health risks and how to avoid them

Press release

Every organisation operating in the food industry faces a great amount of responsibility. If errors occur within the manufacturing processes, food cultivation or production, the negative effects can be far reaching and devastating. This is often evidenced by incidences such as the listeria outbreak, pests being found in food, and general poor quality of produce once it reaches store shelves. How are these risks managed, and what steps can facility managers within the food industry take to ensure that their products are safe for consumption?  

One of the biggest challenges for facility managers within the food industry is that demand and production are high, and many facilities feel the pressure of trying to keep up with what is needed. As a result, substandard cleaning practices are often unintentionally employed. In many such cases facility managers feel that they have facilities that are clean because they appear clean. However, as was explained by Dr Juno Thomas in a Times Live interview with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, not all disease threats are visible. A seemingly clean facility could still be a potential breeding ground for diseases such as listeria; “It can also ‘hide away’ in cracks or niches in factories,” explained Dr Thomas.

So, what practices should facility managers be employing to reduce these risks and ensure that their facilities truly are healthy ones? According to John J Coetzee, CEO at Green Worx Cleaning Solutions, in order to keep up with the demand and ensure that their facilities are properly looked after many facility managers opt for employing contract cleaners to manage their facilities. “Contract cleaners are a great option; however, if the correct contractors are not used employing their services can be very risky indeed.”

Coetzee went on to explain that it is important that facility managers vet their contract cleaners and make sure that they are using appropriate cleaning practices. Facility managers need to ensure that these contract cleaners are using eco-friendly and organic products. Not only are these products better for the environment as a whole and often more cost effective, but they also ensure that the facilities are not being exposed to harsh chemicals and pollutants (which could potentially make the environment even more hazardous for food and the subsequent health of those who consume it). Bio-enzymatic products are also proven to be more effective in eradicating harmful bacteria, by consuming them at the source.  

Maintaining a clean and sanitary facility, and then having to manage the very contract cleaners hired to help lift that load, can feel like a double burden. Coetzee recommends that this is where professional cleaning consultants come in. “Not only do they assess the current state of the facility, they can also guide the facility managers towards an effective and manageable strategy for the cleaning and maintenance of the facility,” he concludes. 

These cleaning consultants also have the expert industry knowledge required to help facility managers select contract cleaners who are cleaning with the most effective and eco-friendly processes and products. 

Relevant reading on AgribookDigital: "Food safety and Traceability" 

Climate crisis cannot be tackled without shift away from damaging land use, major report warns

The way we currently use land is both a major contributor to climate change and placing unsustainable demands on the land systems on which humans and nature depend, according to an authoritative new report presented in Geneva last week.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land, explores the relationship between climate, people and land in a warming world. It warns that climate change is placing additional stress on land, increasing degradation, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.

Dr Stephen Cornelius, chief advisor on climate change and IPCC lead for WWF, said:

“This report sends a clear message that the way we currently use land is contributing to climate change, while also undermining its ability to support people and nature. We need to see an urgent transformation in our land use. Priorities include protecting and restoring natural ecosystems and moving to sustainable food production and consumption. 

“Good land choices are fundamental to tackling the climate crisis. A shift to sustainable land management must be accompanied by the necessary rapid and deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions if we are to meet the 1.5°C  goal of the Paris Agreement. Action on one alone is not enough.”

Humans use approximately 72% of the global ice-free land surface, with land use contributing around 23% of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through deforestation, habitat conversion for agriculture, and livestock emissions. The removal of forests, conversion of peatlands and other natural ecosystems releases carbon, while at the same time contributing to unprecedented biodiversity loss and land degradation. The food sector alone is responsible  for 75% of deforestation worldwide, with the greatest pressure on forests taking place in the tropics. It is also a major driver of savannah and grassland conversion.

Climate change is already affecting the four pillars of food security - availability, access, utilisation and stability - through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and greater frequency of some extreme events.

“Delayed action will increase the risk of climate change impacts on food security. Those most at risk are the world’s poorest.

“Early action to address the climate crisis has the potential to provide multiple co-benefits across the whole range of land challenges, with many options contributing positively to sustainable development and other societal goals,” added Cornelius.

Mkhululi Silandela, Senior Manager Sustainable Agriculture with WWF-SA, commented: “This report comes at a time when South Africa is at a cross roads of reviving the economy and managing the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and high unemployment in a changing climate. It confirms that South Africa’s successful turn-around will depend on how we use the opportunity provided by land reform to increase climate resilience, while providing a range of ecosystem services to local communities while contributing positively to sustainable development and other societal goals.”

The report highlights the synergies and trade-offs inherent in our land choices. WWF considers an integrated suite of sustainable land management tools necessary to secure a climate safe future, while supporting food security and nature. Nature-based climate solutions should play a key role. For instance, mangroves help increase climate resilience, while providing a range of ecosystem services to local communities and supporting fish nurseries.

The science presented in the report further underlines that climate, people and nature are fundamentally linked. Efforts to mitigate climate change and halt nature loss must go hand in hand, and be fully integrated with climate adaptation and food security considerations.

Land-based mitigation options make up to a quarter of total mitigation proposed by countries in their country climate plans, submitted to the UN under the Paris Agreement.

“Countries should make full use of nature-based climate solutions, together with other key measures such as reducing fossil fuel emissions, to enhance their commitments under the Paris Agreement by 2020. The first opportunity to announce such bold plans will be the Climate Summit in New York in September,” said Fernanda Carvalho, global policy manager for WWF’s climate and energy practice

On the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture

Over the last week, readers will have seen the reports and articles about the findings of the Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture. Three of the more useful ones we found were: 

• Reuters. 2019, July 29. "Land reform panel recommends seizures without pay in certain circumstances". Engineering News. Available at https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/land-reform-panel-recommends-seizures-without-pay-in-certain-circumstances-2019-07-29
• Gerber, Jan. 2019, July 29. "Land reform report: 5 questions answered". News 24. Available at https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/land-reform-5-questions-answered-20190729
• Erasmus D. 2019, July 30. "Land panel report ‘takes discussion forward’". Farmer's Weekly. Available at https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/south-africa/land-panel-report-takes-discussion-forward/

What follows is from Agri SA's press release.

The Advisory Panel on Land Reform, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to advise him and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform on a way forward with land reform in its broadest meaning and on the issue of compensation. The Panel report covers all the programmes of land reform and contains recommendations on measures for urban and rural land reform. The report addresses aspects such as land tenure in communal areas, tenure security on farms, expropriation, agrarian reform, land demand and beneficiary selection.

Controversial recommendations:

The Panel’s recommendations are comprehensive and, in some cases controversial. Agri SA cannot support these controversial recommendations. Some of the worrying recommendations are:

• The amendment of section 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation without compensation, a moratorium on farm-evictions and the removal of the 1913 cut-off date for restitution;
• A compensation policy which boils down to a set-formula for compensation to current landowners. The proposal is that there should be a compensation spectrum from zero to minimal to substantial to market-related compensation. There is a suggestion that those who inherited land should be treated differently than those who bought land after 1994.
• Forced on-farm settlements;
• That private title should not be allowed in communal areas;
• The consideration of a land tax,
• Land ceilings;
• A proposal that land for redistribution should be identified at municipal level based on land needs and that the current landowner will be given an opportunity to donate the land, enter into negotiations with the state or face expropriation;
• Water allocation reform where water rights must be re-allocated to smallholder-farmers;
• The regulation of foreign ownership of land.

Other recommendations:

• The Panel recommends a new White Paper process. Whilst Agri SA will always participate in all policy processes that can affect our members, these processes take up a huge amount of time and they take up a lot of resources, also in terms of taxpayers ‘money. From Agri SA’s point of view, and this was also stated in the High-Level Panel Report on Key legislation, the main problems, are not policy related, but can be attributed to poor implementation, inadequate budgets and corruption. These are the things that require priority focus and attention, not the policy side of things.
• A National Land Reform Framework Bill: Although there may be merit in drafting redistribution legislation, it is not entirely clear what aspects such a Bill will address and how. There are indications in the Report that such legislation may be used to target and then forcefully acquire land identified by municipalities as being required for redistribution. This is an invitation for corrupt practices and misuse of power. Coupled with proposals for expropriation without or at minimal compensation, this will exasperate uncertainty in farming areas and further contribute to disinvestment in the farming sector.
• Subdivision of land: Whilst Agri SA agrees that some subdivision may be necessary, wholesale subdivision of a scare resource in the absence of legislation that protects high quality agricultural land, is dangerous for the future of food security in our country.
• Land donations: Agri SA has cautioned that the numbers of farmers who are in a position to donate land should not be over-estimated. Many farmers are struggling to make ends meet and economy of scale is a survival mechanism for farmers. Also, no real incentives are in place as yet to encourage farmers who can do so, to donate land;
• Water rights re-allocation: This is actually a debate on its own. Agri SA needs to point out that water is a scare resource in South Africa and that commercial irrigation farmers make a huge contribution to food production and export earnings.
• Registrable rights for farm dwellers: There are recommendations contained in the report that seem to indicate an intention to register the tenure rights of farm dwellers who are residing on commercial farms and to then enforce those rights in competition with the rights of the current landowner. This reminds one of the 2010 Land Tenure Bill, which was very controversial at the time;

 

Recommendations that can be welcomed, include:

• Measures must be taken to curb corruption;
• A land audit of public and private land that takes into account the Agri SA / ADS/ Landbouweekblad audit results;
• Establishment of a Land Reform Fund;
• Transparent beneficiary selection;
• Strengthening the capacity of the Restitution Commission in order to enable them to expedite claims;
• The development of outcome indicators for successful land reform monitoring and evaluation.

The alternative report:

Agri SA has also studied the alternative report submitted by Dan Kriek and Nick Serfontein. This report focusses on the role of the free market and the private sector in land reform and contains practical proposals of how agricultural land reform can be achieved in a sustainable manner. Important elements of the alternative report are:

• A land depository;
• A land reform fund;
• Joint ventures;
• Farmer support;
• Enablers / incentives for participation by commercial farmers;
• A Social compact
• Beneficiary selection

Agri SA broadly supports the principles of these proposals. We are strongly of the view that land reform in farming areas will take a huge step forward with the establishment of an agricultural development agency where the private sector takes a leading role in driving and financing sustainable land reform. We also believe that we should build on existing best practice models such as the ones showcased at the Bela-Bela land summit last year.

Way forward

Agri SA is concerned about several aspects of the report and particularly the controversial recommendations highlighted earlier. We are of the view that rather than having more time-consuming consultation processes, the focus should be om working together and implementing meaningful projects now. However, should these consultation processes unfold, we will participate fully and make sure that the economic realities, which are not sufficiently addressed in the report are put on the table. In the meantime, Agri SA will continue on full steam with its many transformation initiatives and with the establishment of an agri development fund.

Source: Press release (adapted)