Sistemas de inocuidad y calidad de tres microempresas agroindustriales de San Carlos, Costa Rica

Abstract

Agroindustry contributes to the economical well being of a country because it helps small producers to leave the raw materials model and to add value to their products by selling finished goods to the national and international market. However, without good manufacturing practices and quality controls, agroindustry cannot develop correctly. There is a series of rules which need to be followed by all employees at all stages of the process in order to achieve high quality. This investigation gathered information related to the innocuity and quality of a snack factory, a noni fruit juice factory and a milk caramel factory in La Perla, San Carlos, Costa Rica, through surveys and checklists. There were differences among the companies: the snack factory complies with more aspects related to innocuity and quality, the noni factory fulfills some requirements but can improve the quality of its products and the milk caramel factory has not started implementing any innocuity and quality programs. I present recommendations for all companies and hope this article will help other small companies in developing countries.