Developing the Next Generation of Food Safety Leaders in Ghana

For the past year, DSM Senior Quality Manager Joan Ji has been helping Taste Cocoa Ghana, a cocoa processor, improve their food safety by helping them prepare for the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification. She says, “An international certification like GFSI is key for Taste Cocoa Ghana and will allow them to expand into international markets and compete with other industry players.” Joan has worked at DSM for over 17 years and has deep experience in improving quality assurance systems and establishing company culture focused on quality. “I find it meaningful to share my professional knowledge and skills to educate/train others in food safety and quality,” said Joan. “More importantly, this project will leave a lasting impact beyond Taste Cocoa Ghana. Its employees, their families and community will all benefit from an increased local professional capacity. In addition, consumers will have an a new source of safe, high quality ingredients.”

Because of Joan’s support, Taste Cocoa Ghana is closer to achieving their goal of a GFSI certification. As of December 2020, the project is about 85% complete. She has helped review the client’s HACCP manual, prerequisite programs, training offerings, process controls and validation steps. “Having Joan to learn from is a major advantage,” said Rose Mante, quality assurance manager at Taste Cocoa Ghana. “She helps coach us through our challenges and we get to pick her brain on important issues. We’re able to save considerable time and resources by cutting out all the guesswork.”

Taste Cocoa Ghana hopes to have their GFSI certification soon and will continue to establish an effective and practical quality management system.