BEIRUT: In line with efforts to improve Lebanon’s food safety standards, Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan and the Lebanese Standards Institution (LIBNOR) announced the launch of a new food safety training center at LIBNOR in Sin al-Fil. “We are responsible for creating a new center for training owners and workers in the food industry. Management of food safety is necessary for health, for the image of Lebanon and our products,” Hajj Hasan told The Daily Star.
Several ministries have a hand in ensuring food safety, including the ministries of Health, Economy and Trade and Agriculture. As for the Industry Ministry, Hajj Hasan explained that his focus was on defining the necessary technical regulations, quality control and training.
LIBNOR is a public institution affiliated with the Industry Ministry. With regard to food safety, it sets national food quality standards and certifies products according to international guidelines.
The newly established training center will focus on proper implementation of standards and quality, and provide training courses for the public and private sector within several fields, including food safety, energy management and efficiency, social responsibility and management systems. LIBNOR has also built a new website aimed at educating clients and the public on the basics of proper food safety standards.
Within each sector, one can enroll in either basic or advanced training, over the course of several days. The basic training totals an average of 12 hours, and the advanced training 24 hours. Classes combine both theory and practice.
Mohammad Chamas, head of the services department at LIBNOR, said the first training would occur in the coming weeks. Looking forward, the organization hopes to expand into other areas of training, including sustainable development and occupational health and safety.
“We will be using an accelerated learning process,” Chamas said, explaining that workshops and practical experience would be offered “for restaurant employees to understand how to carefully handle food.”
LIBNOR is a member of the International Organization for Standardization and is affiliated with a number of international bodies for certifying safety standards. Using these standards, they help ministries apply rules on a national level.
Courses will soon be accessible through the organization’s website. Currently they are free of charge, but Chamas said LIBNOR would charge for training in the future.
The vast majority of training will occur at the Sin al-Fil location, but the staff said they may branch out to other locations should class sizes prove to be too large.
Chamas advises that food safety training is not merely about staff practices. Proper training of management is also essential.
“Before talking about food, we should talk about quality, because food safety is based on quality, in terms of the food itself and in terms of management. It is not something related to the final product only, or the packaging, it [requires] a holistic approach,” Chamas said.
LIBNOR director-general Lena Dargham said the institution had a five-year strategy in place “to enhance its presence at the national level and regional level.”
“We are working on the elaboration of standards,” she said, adding that the organization currently has over 2,000 standards published that are now used in inspections and ministry activities to protect food safety.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour first brought deficient hygiene and food handling conditions to the attention of the Lebanese public at the end of 2014, when he publicized the names of restaurants and markets that violated safety standards.
Both Dargham and Chamas said that when it comes to maintaining hygiene standards, awareness through training of management and restaurant staff is among the most important factors.
“If I am opening a restaurant, nobody obliges me to do training, and nobody obliges training for my employees,” Dargham said. “You have a problem of awareness and of having safety management systems in place. In the food industry, [awareness] is a preventive action.”
For those interested in courses with LIBNOR, registration information will be available on www.libnor.gov.lb in the coming days. For further information, call LIBNOR directly at 01-485-927.
No comments:
Post a Comment