The Brunei Darussalam Food Authority (BDFA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and through the National Standards Centre (NSC), Industry and Business Ecosystem Division (IBE), conducted a socialization programme on the Piawaian Brunei Darussalam (PBD) 38:2022 document; which is the Standard on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for the Food Industry Sector, on the 21st March 2023 at Dewan Al-Afiah, Ministry of Health, Berakas.
The socialization aimed to introduce the PBD 38:2022 – Good Manufacturing Practices (Food Industry Sector) Standard to the local food processing industry. PBD 38:2022 provides guidance on the multiple important elements for food manufacturing, wherebycleanliness and safety of food is vital; from the time of receiving the raw materials to the handling of these ingredients and its processing, to packaging and storage of the finished processed food, and up til the selling or marketing of the processed food products. The socialization also aims to inform and educate those involved in the food industry on the importance of following food standards as a benchmark for food safety in food trade.
Present as the Guest of Honour was Yang Mulia Awang Allen On, the Director of Industry and Business Ecosystem, in his capacity as Acting Director of the National Standards Centre. The Guest of Honor, in his opening speech emphasized the role of National Standards Centre in streamlining standard development activities that adheres to Regional and International Standards. He also highlighted that PBD 38:2022 – Good
Manufacturing Practices (Food Industry Sector) serve as an important guideline for food industry players to meet safety requirements of both local and export food markets.
A welcoming address was delivered by Yang Mulia Dayang Wong Wai See, the Chief Executive Officer of BDFA, as the Chairperson of the Organising Committee. She reiterated the role of the BDFA in developing food standards to ensure safe food production for consumption, and also to facilitate trade. It is hoped that the local food industry or business entrepreneurs will gain recognition for adhering to the high food safety standards when implementing the elements of PBD 38:2022 (GMP – Food Industry Sector) as part of their everyday best practice. She also expressed her highest appreciation to the team in the Working Group on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) (WG HACCP) under the Technical Committee on Management System (TCMS) for their concerted effort and diligence in developing this standard.
The session commenced with a presentation by Yang Mulia Dayang Siti Nasreyah binti Haji Ahmed, BDFA Technical Officer who is also the Chairperson of the WG on HACCP, highlighting the contents of the PBD 38:2022 and providing insight to the elements of good manufacturing practices in a food processing facility. Yang Mulia Pg Abdul Shahid bin Pg Hj Amir Bahar, Special Duties Officer Grade II from the IBE, then followed on and presented on the role of the NSC in the development of National Standards.
The socialization event was attended by about 120 participants and stakeholders from various government departments and private sectors namely food manufacturing companies, service providers and higher education institutions. As part of the event, the PBD 38:2022 document was also made available for sale; and it is anticipated that the said document will help to realize the initiatives of both the NSC and the BDFA.
The press release can be downloaded here.