Food safety action plan for maize

Abstract

Maize is the most important cereal crop in Ghana, both in terms of area cultivated and production, as well as in amount consumed as food and feed. It constitutes a major cereal staple used in the preparation of various foods. Inadequate drying, poor grading, improper distribution and poor storage among others contribute to poor quality grains, with aflatoxin contamination being the major risk factor. In order to achieve maximum consumer protection, it is essential that safety should be built into maize food products by effectively reducing risk associated with aflatoxin and other factors in maize throughout the production, processing and marketing chain. This report provides an in depth diagnosis of the food safety issues in maize, targets in terms of compliance with specific standards, gaps to be filled in order to reach the targets, and a proposed action plan integrating cost benefit analysis