With the pandemic of the new coronavirus, all management systems were put in check

Covid-19 brought great reflections on vulnerability, human fragility in the face of contamination

Market and food safety are extremely important items and are correlated. The food market is responsible for 10% of Brazil's GDP (Gross Domestic Product), a significant share, so the risks need to be mapped and the consequences managed.

According to the QHSE and Operational Excellence Manager at Yes, Alexandre Salomão, as well as quality and food safety programs are essential.

“In the past, we had several companies certified with ISO 9000, which is a great certification, but general. Every day, companies are asking for specific certifications and standards focused on our animal nutrition segment, such as GMP+ and FAMIqs, and from the human food segment, FSSC 22000, BRC Food Certificated, ISO 22000, among others”, he adds.

In 2007, a survey conducted by a certifier asked the following question to more than 5,000 consumers around the world: Do you make a purchase decision based on food safety? At the time, less than 50% of people used food security to purchase their own food.

This survey was redone in 2017 and the number registered significant growth, rising from 48% to 72%. “Now, we have the big question: how is this situation nowadays? I believe this number exceeds 90%, as the Covid-19 pandemic brought us a great lesson in food hygiene and quality,” adds Salomão.

With the pandemic of the new coronavirus, all management systems were put in check. The perception is that this trend had already been raised, the pandemic brought great reflections on vulnerability, human fragility in the face of contamination.

Changes

The perspective is for a different future, although important North American, European and Brazilian health authorities and authorities, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, and Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) emphasize that food is not coronavirus transmitters, but transmitters of different bacteria.

“There is a change that is already taking place. We can reflect on what happened to the Food Defense program right after the September 11 attack. As a result, the United States established a food defense policy”, says the expert.

The trend is for the market to undergo changes based on three pillars: large companies will structure their management systems and demand this from the production chain. The second structuring will be based on stricter certifications and the third should happen based on legal changes.

Biosecurity

An extremely important step in the process, biosecurity will also be impacted. It is an essential item to maintain the health of the animal, whether it is a bird, swine or cattle. The concept should be applied throughout the entire production chain, from the extraction of a raw material to its arrival at the consumer.

Salomão also emphasizes that the entire chain must be concerned with the quality of animal feed, which must be healthy, free from contamination in order to have an optimal quality of life and not be a point of accumulation of contaminants, such as heavy metals.

“Because then this animal goes to the slaughterhouse, which will process it within all parameters and quality requirements so that it is no longer an animal, but rather, the meat arrives at the supermarket in good condition, free from contamination and healthy. So this is a concept that I bring here, Feed to food”, he explains.

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Founded in 2008, the YesSinergy® it combines animal welfare, food safety and sustainability to produce natural additives that replace antibiotics for animal health and nutrition. Since 2016, YES has been part of the Aqua Capital, investment fund aimed at companies in the agribusiness sector in Brazil and South America.