Greetings! I'm, Carol Hoareau, an 18 year old A-level student, and I am presently with the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) for the Blue Economy internship. SFA is a governmental organisation responsible for promoting and enforcing sustainable fisheries development, and to ensure the effective protection conservation of Seychelles’ pristine ecosystems. Very important indeed. Throughout my week I engaged in many interesting activities whereby I learned about SFA’s duties such as providing licences to sea cucumber fishing vessels at the fishing port and research work which take place in their different labs. The highlight of my week was having the opportunity to participate in a two-day HACCP training workshop which was conducted by a qualified consultant. I was even awarded with a certificate. HACCP is an abbreviation of ‘Hazard and Critical Control Point’ and is a process control system that identifies where hazards might occur in the food production process, and puts into place strict actions so as to prevent these hazards from occurring. For example, when transporting fish to the processing factory, low temperatures have to be maintained in order to prevent favourable conditions whereby microbes can thrive and thus contaminate the fish. On the first day of the training we learnt in detail about the different categories of hazards which can either be physical, chemical or biological (for example staples, paint and bacteria respectively). The second day was dedicated to practical work, whereby the consultant helped us to prepare fish-based recipes using top hygiene precaution or method, taking into consideration HACCP at each step of the way. This session was super interesting as I adore cooking food (even though I’m not so good at it) and so I got the chance to learn many cooking techniques. Since the processing of fish and fishery products is a major aspect of the blue economy concept, HACCP is extremely important in ensuring the quality of the final products. Therefore, knowledge of HACCP is vital to the industry, as well as for the buyers. Safe food, satisfied consumers!
1 Comment
Christine
12/12/2016 04:12:00 pm
Interesting!
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AuthorThe interns of the Prosperity & Environment: Promoting sustainable development opportunities for youth in the Blue Economy sector. Archives
January 2018
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