HACCP
HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point is an internationally recognized system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food. It is a systematic approach to the identification, evaluation, and control of food safety hazards. HACCP has traditionally relied upon the fact that any point that requires control in a process is either Critical or Not. This is the very basis of the HACCP Decision Tree; it helps you decide if a hazard is a Critical Control Point (CCP) or otherwise.
HACCP – 7 Principles:
- Analyze hazards – Potential hazards associated with a food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could be biological, such as a microbe; chemical, such as a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments.
- Identify critical control points – These are points in a food’s production – from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the consumer – at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detection.
- Establish Critical Limits for each control point – For a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
- Monitor the Critical Control Points – Such procedures might include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored.
- Establish Corrective Actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met – For example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met.
- Establish procedures to Verify that the system is working properly – For example, testing time and temperature recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
- Establish effective Record Keeping – This would include records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring of safety requirements and action taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be backed by sound scientific knowledge: for example, published microbiological studies on time and temperature factors for controlling food borne pathogens.
Benefits
- Focuses on identifying and preventing hazards from contaminating food
- Way to ensure that food products are safe
- Is based on sound science
- Permits more efficient and effective Government oversight, because of the effective record keeping that allows the investigators to analyze, how well the company complies with the law over a period
- Responsibility of food safety is ensured in the hands of the food manufacturer or distributor
- Food companies can have effective competition
- Barriers to International Trade reduced
Requirements
To meet HACCP requirements the industry has to follow the following steps:
- To meet HACCP requirements the industry has to follow the following steps:
- Carry out a Micro-level Study of the existing system
- Conduct an Awareness Training for all personnel
- Form a Food Safety Team
- Improve upon existing good practices and procedures
- Identify challenges for implementing HACCP
- Prepare documents of Food safety management system as well as hazard analysis
- Train employees on Food safety hazards identification evaluation and control
- Train Internal Auditors
- Carry out corrective actions & management review meeting
- Apply for certification
Future
The most common problems with HACCP implementation in food manufacturing are as follows:
- Lack of proper risk assessments
- Lack of people with deep understanding epidemiology and science of pathogens
- Confusion over definition of a hazard
- Lack of Prerequisite programmes
- Poor Identification of critical point determination
- Lack of Validation
- Failure to properly record data
Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) [A global consortium of Food Manufacturers] includes standards such as FSSC 22000, BRC, etc. have included HACCP based requirements to be in place in the scheme’s standard as their core safety. Hence HACCP should continue to be used by the Food industry to promote a safe food supply.
Certification
To become certified, a business must develop a System that meets the requirements of the standard intended.
The certification has to follow a few steps:
- Documents Review
- Pre-audit
- Internal Audit
- Verification and Corrective Actions (If needed)
- External Audit
- Verification and Corrective Actions (If Needed)
- Certification
Once your HACCP System has been documented and implemented, you must invite an accredited external auditor to evaluate the effectiveness of your system. If the auditors determine that your System meets all requirements as specified in the standard, they will certify your system. You can then announce to the world that the quality of our products / services is managed, controlled, and assured by a registered HACCP System.