The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) has started implementing good manufacturing practice (GMP) as a pilot project at six dairies in the Kathmandu Valley. The move is expected to improve the quality of local dairy products besides making them competitive in the global market.

GMP is one of the components of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points that ensures risk-free production of perishable food items. It is a preventive food safety risk management system in which every step in the manufacture, storage and distribution of milk and dairy products is analysed for microbiological, physical and chemical hazards.

DFTQC spokesperson Purna Chandra Wasti said they started the pilot project by providing technical support to the six dairy factories. “We have been providing training and support to improve procedure at the factories,” Wasti said.

Araniko Rajbhandari, president of Nepal Dairy Udyog Sangh, said they had enforced GMP at Nepal Dairy, Kharipati Dairy, Modern Dairy, Sainju Dairy, Nava Prabhat Dairy and Rajdhani Dairy. “Following the implementation of the system, these dairies have been working to improve the machine layout, quality of raw materials, handling process in the factory and the internal and external working environment,” Rajbhandari said.

He added that previously the dairies used to focus only on pasteurising milk. According to him, they conducted a gap analysis before implementing GMP. “The results are assessed by the DFTQC on a monthly basis, and we upgrade system compliance accordingly.”

The Dairy Udyog Sangh has 32 dairies as members. It has planned to enforce GMP at all firms in one and a half years. “In the first phase, we expect to implement GMP at dairies located in metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Dairy Association said it had also started implementing GMP among its members. As per the association, it has more than 200 members. Pralhad Dahal, general secretary of the association, said Sitaram Dairy in Kirtipur and Jay Shree Krishna Dairy in Panchkhal had been applying GMP in their production process.

Dahal said that GMP was suitable for large dairy firms but difficult to implement at the farmers’ production level. “In addition, there is a need for rigorous follow-up in entire value chain to ensure effectiveness of the system,” he added.

The DFTQC moved to enforce GMP in the dairy industry following quality issues with support from the Trade and Private Sector Development Programme funded by the European Union.

Among the 50 firms against which the department took action in the first four months of this fiscal year, nine were related to dairy production. Coliform bacteria contamination in processed milk and insufficient milk solids-not-fat are among the common problems seen in the industry.