“MSME’s [micro, small and medium entrepreneurs] need help in metrology to ensure food safety.”
This is what Kiveen P. Suycano, a research specialist at the Industrial Technology and Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ITDI), said during the recent celebration of the National Metrology Laboratory’s 2023 Metrology Day.
Suycano, in his presentation at the event with the theme “Underpinning the Role of Metrology in Food Quality and Safety,” underscored the importance of metrology, or the science of measurements, and its applications not only in big industries, but even in the MSMEs.
“We need to make more effort to help the MSMEs because they need [assistance] to improve, for them to innovate and somehow improve their processes to prevent food loss and food waste,” Suycano said partly in Filipino.
Through metrology, the quality and authenticity of food are determined by measuring the chemical composition and microbial load.
The safety of food is ensured by careful measurement to detect the presence of chemical and microbiological contamination,such aspesticide residues, heavy metals, mycotoxins andpathogens.
Metrology can help businesses innovate, perform better and improve the quality of their products, and make them compliant to the quality ofinternational andnationalstandards. And these will lead to job creation and better income for the Filipinos.
This year’s theme for Metrology Day “Measurements supporting the global food system,” was chosen because of the effects of the increasing challenges of climate change, increasing population and the global food production and distribution systems, as well as food security.
Access to safe and nutritious food is a basic human need and is one of the most pressing needs.
The United Nation in its sustainable development goals listed zero hunger among the top of the list during the pandemic because it was estimated that between 720 million and 800 million persons worldwide were suffering from hunger. This is roughly 161 million more than in 2019, with the pandemic further aggravated this situation.
“The need for reliablefood providers and regulators,and sufficient food system is a pressing worldwide issue in which metrology plays a key role,” DOST-ITDI Director Annabelle V. Briones said.
Food safety has a food-chain approach. DOST-ITDI’s National Metrology Laboratory helps ensure the implementation of the Republic Act 10611 of 2013, orAn Act to Strengthen the Food Safety Regulatory System in the Country to Protect Consumer Health and Facilitate Market Access of local foods and food products, and for other purposes.
“Our food safety Act enables our country to have a mechanism so that our food providers will have a capability to monitor, regulate and ensure that the food served, whether it be packaged, or food we serve in our restaurants, or even in our ‘sari-sari’ [variety] stores are safe for consumption, to prevent illness or disease,”said Admer Rey C. Dablio, a science researcher at DOST-ITDI.
The food-chain approach entails food production, transport and processing, retail and storage, preparation, and consumption. Metrology is present in all of these.
“In food processing, it’s not just about weighing or processing. Metrology would establish food safety, and of course lessen food losses and food waste,” Suycano explained.
He illustrated that in canning there is need for appropriate pressure, otherwise, the bottle of sardines, for example, would explode. The cans, if the canning machine is not calibrated, could be mishapen, that would reflect a failure in quality control.
Thus, metrology intervention in food processing includes weighing of raw materials and ingredients; determining the proper temperature; attaching food labels that include nutrition facts and net weight; and proper food additives, he added.
For farmers, by determining the pH level of the soil, or its acidity, they can analyze and set how much fertilizer to use to maximize their efforts, the specific type of variety to plant on a specific location depending on the type of soil so they can get have an optimum harvest, Suycano explained.
In livestock, it is important to measure appropriate temperature and humidity. Volume metric devices for livestock farmers are needed to monitor the weight of the animals and the ration of feeds, he added.
In poultry, the temperature is also appropriate to have a greater chance for chickens to lay more eggs.
Accurate andreliablemeasurements support the global food system by ensuring that the correct amount of food is produced, transported and sold, the experts said.
Metrology will help in the reduction, or elimination, of food loss and food waste during production, processing, distribution, and consumption.
Fair trade is promoted through accurate measurements, which in turn ensures food quality and safety in compliance with regulatory requirements, not only in the local standards, but in the international standards as well.
Image credits: Zoom slide of Kiveen P. Suycano
MSMEs need help in metrology for food safety, waste prevention
Source: News Paper Radio
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