By Ensuring food safety and maintaining quality standards are critical considerations in cashew processing, not only in Ghana but also throughout Africa and globally.
Strict adherence to these standards is essential for accessing international markets for cashew kernels, particularly in major export destinations such as the United States and Europe.
In addition to meeting standard food safety and quality requirements, cashew kernels must adhere to sustainability assurance regulations, which encompass traceability, transparency, labor standards, and human rights regulations, among others.
The African Cashew Alliance (ACA) is dedicated to fostering a competitive African cashew industry. As part of this commitment, the ACA provides technical training and support to promote local processing. The aim is to empower local processors, enabling them to competitively position locally processed kernels in the international cashew market.
The ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal was introduced in 2012 by the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) in partnership with international cashew buyers. It serves as an industry-recognized symbol affirming compliance with globally recognized standards in quality, food safety, social responsibility, and labor practices.
Developed in collaboration with industry experts and international food safety authorities, and endorsed by major players like Kraft Foods and Intersnack, the ACA Seal has proven to be a valuable certification for African processors. It grants them access to international markets, enhancing their competitiveness and credibility.
Currently, more than 10 African processors in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana have been awarded the ACA Seal.
On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), with funding support from the Alliance for Products Quality in Africa (GIZ/AfPQ), organized a technical training session on food safety and quality standards, as well as ACA Seal procedures, for cashew processors in Ghana.
The training, held in Sunyani, aimed to promote adherence to food safety and quality standards in cashew processing and to reinforce understanding of ACA Seal procedures. It covered essential topics such as quality assurance procedures in the cashew industry, social responsibility in cashew processing, and tools and engagement for processors.
Participants were also taken through how the ACA Seal works and its procedures, quality and pre-shipment control and best practices in the cashew industry.
A total of 15 people, mainly Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Quality Assurance Officers and other officials of the various cashew processing factories in Ghana participated in the training, facilitated by a cashew technical advisory and food safety expert and consultant, Mr. Werme Mohamadou, from Burkina Faso.
According to Mr. Mahamadou, the training was organised to enhance compliance to quality, food safety, social and labor standards among cashew processors in Ghana. He outlined that the training had three main objectives: “to reinforce the importance of quality, food safety, social and labor standards compliance in cashew processing in Ghana. Second to enhance the local processors’ understanding of the ACA Seal benchmarks, and third to stimulate commitment to compliance to the necessary ACA Seal benchmarks and standards.”
CEO of Gensap Ventures, a small-scale cashew processing company in Sunyani, Mr. George Nkrumah Sarpong, who participated in the training appreciated the efforts of the ACA and its partners at building the capacity of local cashew processors in Ghana, explaining that the training was very reinforcing.
“This training was very refreshing and reinforcing.
The ACA and its partners deserve commendation because they continue to support us with the technical knowledge that we need. Food safety is very important in our business; hence we welcome and appreciate trainings like this that reminds us of what we must do and inform us of new regulations, requirements and standards.
Ultimately, we want to break into the international market, and understanding these standards are very important,” he said.
“We need more of such trainings, especially those that are more practical and help us to learn from each other and from what other processors are doing in different countries,” he added.
Madam Patricia Afia Seli, a Quality Control Officer at the Kabile Farmers Cooperative Processing Factory, saw the training as a valuable opportunity to enhance her expertise in food safety. She anticipated that it would enable her to learn about numerous crucial measures that could be implemented to ensure compliance.
“As Quality Assurance Officer of my factory, I find this training very necessary and the topics very relevant to my work and organization. The training has enhanced my awareness of several food safety issues and broadened my knowledge of quality standards. I believe these are the kind of trainings we need to propel us to the next level, which is breaking into the international market,” she said.
Mr. Ernest Mintah, Managing Director of the ACA, reiterated the alliance’s dedication to bolstering the competitiveness of local cashew processors in Africa within the international market.
He affirmed that the ACA will persist in its endeavors to realize this vision by enhancing the capacity of local processors and furnishing them with essential technical support.
“We have been providing technical support to local processors, especially on food safety and the ACA Seal Procedures, thanks to the support of our funding partners, the Alliance for Products Quality in Africa (GIZ/AfPQ). We appreciate their support over the years. We will continue to support processors as we work together towards our vision of creating a competitive African cashew industry through value addition,” he said.
