Fepex Presents the «Guide of hygiene for fruit and vegetables»
29 October 1999
The Federation of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Vegetables of Spain, Fepex, in collaboration with several organisations of the sector and the Ministry of Health has presented the Guide of Hygiene for the manipulated and Packaging of fruit and vegetables, a tool that will serve for the self-supervision of the sanitary ware problems by part of the companies trading companies, with the end to achieve a greater hygiene and salubridad in the foods.
The guide collects the general guidelines that have to fulfil the packaging companies and manipulated of products hortofrutícolas, of agreement cocn the main international norms of hygiene of the foods: the international system APPCC (System of Analysis of Dangers and of Checkpoints Criticise) and the Codex Alimentarius. In her they analyse the elements of the process of manipulated and packaging, since the fruit and vegetables go in in the warehouses until they remain lists for his expedition and define potential risks and critical points that have to be controlled.
The initiative for the manufacturing of this guide split of FEPEX, with the collaboration of the General Sub-directorate of Hygiene of the Foods of the Ministry of Health and Consumption. Later it created a group of work with representatives of the Committee of Management of Citrus fruit, the Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Spain, the Economic Committee of the Sweet Fruit and FEPEX.
The edition of this guide fulfils with a triple aim. On the one hand it answers to the exigencias of the royal decree number 2207/95 of 28 December on hygiene of alimentary products. By another, answers to the interest of the own sector so that the process of manipulated and packaging of the fruit and vegetables realise with the greater guarantees of hygiene and of this form, have the confidence of the consumer. And in third place, so much the sector hortofrutícola like the Ministry of Health and Consumption pretends that this document was the base so that the competent administrations realise the inspections in warehouses. As in Spain the sanitary ware controls are transferred to the Autonomous Communities, expects that these use the guide, of national field, in his inspections and, of this form, avoid political shoot of control.
