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As this year’s rainy season intensifies, bakeries across the country face the familiar yet formidable challenge of maintaining food safety amid harsh climatic changes, characterized by increased humidity and moisture in the atmosphere. These conditions naturally accelerate spoilage, encourage mould growth, which produces toxins in food and heighten the risk of contamination. These threats directly impact both the quality of baked goods and consumer health.
To strengthen food safety across Ghana’s bakery industry and elevate hygiene practices nationwide, agribusiness leader Olam Agri introduced the Grain Hygiene Standards Management (GHSM) program in July 2023. The initiative aims to equip bakers and bakeries with practical hygiene standards, education, monitoring and continuous support, ensuring that bread and other flour-based products are consistently safe, of high-quality, and trusted by consumers in a consistent manner.
The GHSM program sets out 10 critical hygiene pillars covering aspects such as flour storage, water quality, pest control, equipment sanitization and employee health. These standards are not theoretical guidelines but practical, actionable steps that bakeries are taught and encouraged to implement on a daily basis, to reduce the risk of contamination. Importantly, GHSM includes health screenings for bakers, testing for communicable diseases such as hepatitis B and typhoid, checking vitals, and offering free de-wormers. To further support hygiene compliance, Olam Agri equips bakeries with essential working gear, including aprons, oven gloves, hair nets, scrapers and branded shirts. This hands-on, comprehensive approach has earned the program credibility among bakery operators, particularly those who have long struggled to maintain hygiene during wet seasons.
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One such baker is Henritta Effuah Aggrey, owner of Hetty’s Bakery in Kumasi. She recalls the transformation the GHSM program brought to her business:
Before joining the GHSM program, the rainy season was always a worry. We lost bread to dampness and feared customers might get sick. But after the training and support from Olam Agri, we changed how we store flour and clean our bakery. Now, even with the rains, our bread stays safe, and our customers trust us. Our sales have also improved.
Hetty’s Bakery, Kumasi
The program’s impact is evident. Since its inception, over 1,400 bakeries from Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi have participated in GHSM, with more than 200 bakeries recognized for outstanding hygiene practices at the recent GHSM Awards held at Olam Agri’s Food Safety System (FSSC) certified wheat mill in Kpone. Thirty-five bakeries earned Four-Star status for exceptional adherence to hygiene protocols, while 141 received Three-Star recognition for satisfactory performance.
Under the GHSM program, Olam Agri works closely with partners such as Twentyth Consult and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to conduct rigorous training, continuous education, monitoring, and evaluation. This collaborative approach ensures that hygiene standards and protocols are not only set but consistently upheld, even during the rainy season when risks are highest.
Mavis Adjei, a baker from Accra, spoke of the shift in mind-set brought about by the program, “The program helped me see hygiene as a full process, starting from how we receive and store flour, to how we keep our equipment clean. This has reduced waste and improved customer confidence.”
Mavis Adjei
For customers like Francis Kumi, who buys bread regularly in Accra, these improvements are reassuring.
I look for bakeries that show that they care about cleanliness and safety, especially during the rainy season. It makes me confident that my family is eating safe food.
Olam Agri’s commitment goes beyond flour milling; it extends to empowering the entire bakery ecosystem with knowledge, tools, and recognition to uphold the highest food safety standards. The rainy season will always test Ghana’s bakers, but with GHSM, they are better equipped to meet these challenges, protecting their businesses, their customers, and public health.
An Overview by Ekow Quarcoo
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