Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food.
A HACCP System requires that potential hazards are identified and controlled at specific points in the process. This includes biological, chemical or physical hazards.Any company involved in the manufacturing, processing or handling of food products can use HACCP to minimize or eliminate food safety hazards in their product.
Building a HACCP System
Implementing a HACCP System requires that both Prerequisite Programs and HACCP Plans are implemented.
Prerequisite programs are programs that are put in place in the facility to control hazards in the environment, preventing contamination of the product. Prerequisite programs ensure a hygienic environment, and good manufacturing processes for personnel that reduce the risk of contamination of the food product.
HACCP Plans are prepared for each process or product, and identify possible hazards and controls in place to make sure the hazards are eliminated or controlled to ensure acceptable levels in the food product.
Why use HACCP?
Awareness of food-borne illness is increasing and concern throughout the industry is driving the use of HACCP and HACCP based certification programs.
Principles of HACCP
A food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP will enable hazards to be identified and controlled before they threaten the safety of food and your customers. There are 7 principles of HACCP:
1. Identify the hazards
Look at each step (e.g. purchasing, delivery, storage, preparation, cooking, chilling etc.) in your operation and identify what can go wrong e.g. Salmonella in a cooked chicken product due to cross contamination with raw meat (biological hazard), contamination of uncovered food with detergent(chemical hazard) or a piece of broken glass fallen into an uncovered food (physical hazard).
2. Determine the critical control points (CCPs)
Identify the points in your operation that ensures control of the hazards e.g. cooking raw meat thoroughly will kill pathogens such as E. coli O157.
3. Establish critical limit(s)
Set limits to enable you to identify when a CCP is out of control e.g. when cooking beef burgers, the centre of the burger must reach a minimum temperature of 75°C (or an equivalent time temperature combination e.g. 70°C for 2 minutes) to ensure pathogens are destroyed.
4. Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP
When CCPs and critical limits have been identified it is important to have a way to monitor and record what is happening at each CCP. Typically monitoring will involve measuring parameters such as temperature and time. However, how you monitor and how often will depend on the size and nature of your business. Monitoring should in all cases be simple, clear and easy to do e.g. probe refrigerated food to ensure that it is being maintained below 5°C.
5. Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control
When monitoring indicates that a CCP is not under control, corrective action must be taken e.g. the temperature of the food in a refrigerator rises to 10°C due to a technical fault. Discard the food and repair the refrigerator using the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure the correct temperature of 5°C is achieved.
6. Establish procedures for verification to confirm the HACCP system is working effectively
Review and correct the system periodically and whenever you make changes to your operation e.g. when replacing an oven verify that the time/temperature settings in the new oven achieves the minimum safe cooking temperature for a particular dish by probing the food.
7. Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application
For the successful implementation of HACCP, appropriate documentation and records must be kept and be readily available. It is unrealistic to operate HACCP or to demonstrate compliance with the current legislation without providing evidence such as written records. As with HACCP itself, the complexity of the record keeping will very much depend on the nature and complexity of the business. The aim should be to ensure control is maintained without generating excessive paperwork.