HACCP Overview and Process

Study Notes

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, a system designed for food safety management.
Focuses on prevention and structured methods for identifying and controlling hazards that could impact food safety.

Define Process: Steps involved in food production are clearly outlined.
Identify Hazards: Determine potential biological, chemical, or physical hazards at each stage.
Critical Control Points (CCPs): Identify key points in the process where control can prevent or eliminate hazards.
Manage Control Points: Implement effective strategies to manage these identified control points.
Verification: Regularly confirm that the HACCP plan is functioning effectively.

Essential components for a successful HACCP implementation include hygiene, training, planned maintenance, supplier controls, pest control, calibration, and a strong food safety culture.

Biological Hazards: Pathogens that can cause illness; includes bacteria (e.g., Salmonella, E. Coli), viruses (e.g., Hepatitis A), and parasites (e.g., Giardia).
Chemical Hazards: Includes harmful substances such as cleaning agents, pesticides, toxic metals, and pollutants.
Physical Hazards: Foreign objects or materials that can contaminate food, such as broken glass, metal fragments, and natural items like bones or shells.

Enhances product safety management, reducing the risk of major food incidents.
Addresses limitations of traditional quality control methods, which often rely on random sampling.
Responds to external pressures from customers, media, and legislation.

A multidisciplinary team effort, typically led by an appointed team leader.
Core team members should include experts from Quality Assurance, Operations, and Engineering.
Additional expertise can be drawn from Research and Development, Distribution, and Human Resources.

UK Eggs: Salmonella due to contamination during processing; 81 affected, costing £3 million.
USA French Fries: Metal bristles from improper metal detector action; 8 million lbs destroyed, costing $4 million.
UK Coca-Cola: Fungicide contamination via packaging; 50 million cans recalled, costing £60 million.

Defined as actions to prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to acceptable levels.
Key aspects include identifying hazards, setting critical limits, monitoring CCPs, corrective actions, and maintaining records.

Hazard Identification and Preventative Measures: The first step for risk management.
CCP Identification: Critical locations in the process needing control.
Critical Limits Establishment: Defining acceptable safety limits.
Monitoring Systems: Continuous supervision of CCPs.
Corrective Actions Procedures: Steps to take if monitoring indicates a deviation.
Verification Procedures: Ensuring effectiveness of the system.
Documentation and Records: Keeping accurate records to support the HACCP system.