Grow more palm trees - Food Processors International Ghana

Food Processors International Ghana Limited (FPI), producers of Ghana Fresh® concentrated palm- nut cream, has said  there is the need for outgrowers of palm trees to endeavour to increase their production capacity to meet the demand of processors in the country.

The company, which sources palm fruits through its intermediaries from communities such as Asuom, Kade, Tweapease  and Abompe, says producers have the opportunity to increase their capacity since the company offers a ready market for their produce.

Presently, the company processes some 40 tonnes of the palm nut cream concentrate every two days and officials are hoping to increase production capacity to meet the demand of the export market.

It also produces garden eggs, fufu flour and snails which are canned for export.  FPI is hoping to expand its market to the South African regional market should it be assured of enough raw material for processing.

The General Manager of FPI, Mr Thomas Goka, told the Daily Graphic in Tema that the company’s flagship product, Ghana Fresh® Palmnut Cream Concentrate, which is exported to the United States and European markets, had gone through key validation processes to ensure that the product was accepted in those markets.

That, he said, required that only specific varieties of fruits were used in their production. As such, farmers, he said, had been sensitised to ensure they were abreast of the varieties to cultivate to be used by processors.

Certifications

Mr Goka said although the product had been approved by the United States Foods and Drugs Authority (USFDA), they were required to ensure they had the international food certifications before the products could be exported into the European market.

“As such, we have installed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system which ensures that the physical hazards from the raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product are eliminated,” Mr Goka said.

Similarly, he said, the stringent regulation of food to ensure that there were no failures in the supply chain which could impact on health and safety, necessitated the need for the company to put in place measures that would ensure that its products were manufactured under hygienic conditions to meet international standards.

Social media slander

The Ghana Fresh® Palmnut Cream Concentrate was recently at the centre of an alleged social media campaign which sought to suggest that persons engaged in the production chain were sufferers of foot rot.

Pictures, said to have been taken of some women who were into the production of palm oil in neighbouring Nigeria with  alleged health conditions, were posted on social media with the company’s product which depicted the company as producing the concentrates under unhygienic conditions.

However, Mr Goka, who took the Daily Graphic round the company’s production plant in Tema last Friday, described the incident as unfortunate.

The company employs 50 permanent staff and a number of casual workers. Mr Goka said in its quest to ensure visibility for Ghana-made products on the international market, the company took cognisance of the need to ensure processes conformed to international food processing standards.

The company’s floors are marked in zones with minimal human interface in the production processes.

The production is such that the palm fruits are transferred from a creamer machine after milling to a pulper (machine) and subsequently into the strainer to ensure the removal of residual fibre from cream.

Mr Goka said strained cream was subsequently transferred into steam kettles, where they are put under a certain temperature to dehydrate the soup into  concentrate before being transferred into the filling machine which fills the cans to be calibrated.

He also maintained that the company underwent rigorous processes to ensure the product and cans were rid of pathogens that were likely to have come into contact with the products during the packaging processes.

“We regularly ensure that the cans are stashed on a metal basket which is sent to an autoclave (retork machine) to ensure the products are sterilised to make them safe for consumption,” Mr Goka emphasised.

“We remain committed to continuing improvement on product quality and safety for the protection of public health and safety while helping alleviate food insecurity,” he stressed.

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