STDF Cameroon: Group trainings on Good Processing and Drying Practices for Pepper in Penja and Loum

In November 2021, two collective training sessions were organised in Penja and Loum (Cameroon) on good practices for processing and drying Penja pepper. The training sessions for processing/quality managers aimed to bring the quality of Penja pepper in line with international market requirements for SPS measures without altering its traditional quality.

Trainings, which is part of the “project to improve the sanitary and phytosanitary quality of Penja pepper in order to facilitate its access to international markets” (STDF/PG/593), enabled participants to master:

• the stage of maturity of the berries by type of product (green pepper, black pepper, white pepper and red pepper)
• the stages and operations of the product transformation process (green pepper, black pepper, white pepper and red pepper)
• the techniques of retting white pepper, bleaching black pepper, conservation of green pepper and drying of each type of Penja pepper
• the risk practices at each stage of the transformation process
• the recommended risk management measures for processing and drying of Penja pepper
• the good hygiene practices (personnel hygiene, equipment and infrastructure hygiene, premises hygiene, raw material hygiene, hygiene related to working methods) related to the processing and drying of each type of Penja pepper
• the sampling of a batch in a normal context or in case of difference
• the different records to be made in the context of processing and drying of Penja pepper
• the different checklists necessary for the processing and drying of Penja pepper and the management of non-conformities.
• To know the management and archiving of documents for better traceability

Participants expressed a keen interest in the distribution of brochures on harvesting, blanching and retting techniques, traceability and general hygiene principles.

This activity was organised within the framework of the Project to strengthen the phytosanitary monitoring and certification system for the fruit and vegetable sector in Cameroon, supported by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and implemented by COLEACP.