FOREWORD

The food industry in the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region is expanding rapidly. In view of the liberalization of global trade and increasing demand by consumers in developed countries not only for economical but also for healthy, tasty, and safe food, the industry is confronted with the challenge of remaining competitive in an international, quality-oriented market where commodities, production areas, and brands compete with each other. Many developing countries in the region, however, have only a few food-exporting enterprises with modern quality assurance and improvement systems in place. Thus processed food products from such countries cannot compete well in the international food market due to the lack of quality assurance, and the products have usually been relegated to lower-end markets or abandoned in some cases.

This situation demands immediate attention to improve the quality perception of the food-processing industry, particularly of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that constitute a large proportion of the industry in the region. This could be achieved by creating awareness among SMEs of modern quality assurance and improvement concepts such as hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP), which has become the internationally recognized system for the management of food safety for all companies involved in the production, processing, storage, and distribution of food for human consumption. In the adoption of HACCP, however, SMEs are confronted with many legal, socioeconomic, and technical issues and challenges. Concerted efforts on the part of all stakeholders are needed to overcome those challenges for the widespread adoption of HACCP and other quality assurance systems by food-processing SMEs.

The APO therefore organized a study meeting on Quality Enhancement in Small and Medium Food-processing Enterprises through HACCP. The objectives were to: review the present status of quality control in the food-processing industry, particularly in SMEs in member countries; assess the perception and awareness levels of modern quality concepts with special reference to HACCP; and identify issues and constraints in, and strategies for, the wider adoption of HACCP. This volume is a compilation of the papers and proceedings of the study meeting. I hope that it will serve as a useful reference on the subject in APO member countries and elsewhere.

The APO is grateful to the Government of Japan for financial support of the project, as well as to the Government of India for hosting the meeting, especially the National Productivity Council of India and Ministry of Food Processing Industries for implementing the program. Special thanks are due to Ms. Miriam Satin for editing the present volume.