Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), through its Quality Assurance Division - Operations Services Department (QAD-OSD), held a Workshop on the Development of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) with members of the Food Safety and Environmental Management Unit (FSEMU) of the PFDA Regional Fish Port on October 16 to 20, 2023 at the University Hotel, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City.

The five-day workshop was aimed to initiate the development of SSOPs for market halls and cold storage facilities of the operating units, as well as to provide an in-depth understanding of the concepts of SSOP.

Mr. Dennis E. Tiotangco, former Chief of Fisheries Inspection Unit of Fisheries Inspection and Quarantine Division at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, was the resource speaker during the SSOP workshop.

In the span of five days, Mr. Tiotangco discussed eight key sanitation control procedures, including the safety of water; condition and cleanliness of food contact surfaces; prevention of cross-contamination; maintenance of handwashing, hand sanitizing, and toilet facilities; protection from adulterants; proper labeling, storage, and use of toxic compounds; control of health employee; and exclusion of pest.

QAD Officer-in-Charge Mr. Emilio Paul M. Candelaria, Quality Control/Assurance Officer Mr. Marco Polo Pangilinan, and QC/A Inspector Ms. Kimberly S. Orande were the facilitators during the five-day workshop.

A total of 18 FSEMU members across all PFDA ports actively participated during the SSOP workshop.

The activity was in conjunction with the Food Safety Awareness Week held every fourth week of October. This year’s observance bears the theme “Pagkaing ligtas, masustansya at sapat, susi sa magandang kalusugan ng lahat.”

(Mark Angelo N. Perez and Paul Vincent R. del Rosario – Public Information Division with reports from Kimberly S. Orande – QAD-OSD)