Food Safety Magazine, April/May 2012

develop;many;other;good;practices. Ensuring;safe;foods;for;the;consumer should;be;part;of;the;era;of;globalization in;developed;and;developing;countries. If;the;human;resources;aren’t;adequately trained and appropriately educated, we cannot expect to have professionals with highly developed skills or knowledge who would implement relevant control and;documentation.

The;goal;can;be achieved only with intense;global;coopera-tion among all of those involved in different kinds of food activities, such as government, teachers and professors, controllers, producers, food processors, transporters and traders, including consumers, who stand at the end of the food chain.

In;most;countries in;Latin;America, Frito-Lay;is;the;market leader;;however, Frito-Lay;has;not;filled all;markets.;That;is;the;opportunity;for medium and small producers to include their products in the market, mainly by;mimicking;Frito-Lay;products;and more;recently;by;developing;innovative raw;materials;and;processes.;Frequently, medium and small producers have to achieve;the;GMP;requirements;with;cre-ative;and;innovative;approaches.;Most;of the;GMP;categories;are;achieved;due;to the;low;cost;of;labor.

For;example,;the;general;maintenance of;physical;facilities;is;accomplished;by keeping a team of technicians working on;fixing;the;mechanical;and;electrical issues;of;the;equipment.;Occasionally during production, it is common to see many workers cleaning floors, walls and even;ceilings.

As;it;may;be;noticed;while;browsing
through;the;GMP;rules,;some;regula-
tions;are;written;clearly;;consequently,
their;compliance;is;easily;evaluated.;For
instance,;the;regulation;that;“no;pests
shall;be;allowed;in;any;area;of;the;food
plant”;is;clearly;defined.;If;an;inspec-
tor found a pest, such as a mouse, or
evidence of a pest in the food plant, then
there;obviously;is;a;violation.