Food safety

Our approach

Safe, nutritious food is the purpose of our work, and a certificate opens the door to markets that pay more. We work on two levels at once: the company, and the system around it.

Each company follows a pathway in three parts: we assess its food safety and operating systems against what its market and regulators require and give it a roadmap; we give one-to-one technical support while the team makes the priority changes, including help with layout, equipment and money; and we train and coach the team to keep its own systems running.

We do not give grants. Companies commit their own time and money, which is why the changes last.

Our 2030 goals

These are goals for 2030, not results.

What we do

We run gap audits against the standard a company needs, such as national standards, HACCP or FSSC 22000. We coach staff on hygiene, documentation, traceability and corrective actions, and prepare companies for inspection and certification. We also advise on factory layout and shared processing facilities.

Beyond single firms, we work with partners on food safety policy and harmonised inspections, on consumer research that shows what safety is worth to shoppers, and on campaigns such as World Food Safety Day.

Where we have done this

• Malawi, IMAGRI: see our showcase of the programme, from national policy to the factory floor.
• Burkina Faso: a dried mango processor gained HACCP after earlier failed audits, and Fonioforce trained fonio processors in food safety for the local market.
• Eritrea: milk testing and hygiene procedures at collection centres.