Codex Guidelines for the Application of HACCP

Nauman Khalid
Food Quality Management
Lecture # 8
Introducing the Codex guidelines

 HACCP has gained widespread international

acceptance as an important tool for improving food
safety management

 Codex guidelines on the application of HACCP

adopted in 1993 – revisions adopted in 1995, 1997
and 2003
Prerequisites to HACCP

 Food businesses must have programmes consistent

with the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene
in place before considering application of HACCP

 Prerequisite programmes must

 Include training
 Be fully operational
 Be verified
Why prerequisite programmes?

 The purpose of HACCP is to allow businesses to

focus control at critical points

 Without well functioning prerequisite programmes

we risk either

 Identifying so many critical points that we cannot focus our

efforts and resources

 Not taking sufficient account of hazards that should have been

controlled by our GHPs....but are not
Specificity of HACCP

 Application of HACCP principles is the

responsibility of each individual business for each
of its operations

 Generic HACCP models or codes of hygiene

practice can provide guidance - but for any
specific application critical control points need to
be rigorously determined
Specificity of HACCP
 HACCP plans are likely to vary among
enterprises making the same product because of
differences in

 Ingredient source
 Formulation
 Processing equipment and methods
 Storage conditions
 Experience, knowledge and attitudes of personnel
Flexibility of HACCP
 HACCP systems must be appropriate to the
business under consideration

 Nature and size of operation

 Human and financial resources
 Infrastructure etc.

 All seven principles must be applied in any

HACCP-based system
Appropriate measures

Problems must be defined and solutions found

according to the context
Constraints facing small businesses

 Often do not have the resources or expertise

on-site to develop and implement an effective
HACCP plan

 Availability of expert advice from other sources

is important

 Advice must be specific to products and

processes under consideration
Seven HACCP principles

1. Conduct hazard analysis

2. Determine critical control points (CCP)
3. Establish critical limits
4. Establish system to monitor control of CCP
5. Establish corrective action
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish documentation
HACCP principle 1
Conduct hazard analysis
Hazard
A biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to
cause an adverse health effect

Hazard analysis
The process of collecting and evaluating information on hazards and conditions
leading to their presence to decide which are significant to food safety and therefore
should be addressed in the HACCP plan
Tasks required to apply HACCP principle 1

Assemble HACCP team  Ensure availability of all

required expertise -
Describe product multidisciplinary team
Identify intended use  Scope of HACCP plan
Construct flow diagram decided

On-site confirmation of flow

diagram
List all potential hazards,
conduct hazard analysis
Tasks required to apply HACCP principle 1

Assemble HACCP team  A full description of the

product should be prepared
Describe product  All relevant safety
Identify intended use information should be
Construct flow diagram reported including:
composition, physical/
On-site confirmation of flow chemical characteristics,
diagram packaging, storage
List all potential hazards, conditions, etc.
conduct hazard analysis
Tasks required to apply HACCP principle 1

Assemble HACCP team  Specify expected use of the

product
Describe product  Where appropriate
Identify intended use consider vulnerable groups
Construct flow diagram of the population

On-site confirmation of flow

diagram
List all potential hazards,
conduct hazard analysis
Tasks required to apply HACCP principle 1

Assemble HACCP team  Flow diagram for process

should be constructed by
Describe product HACCP team
Identify intended use  The flow diagram should
Construct flow diagram cover all steps in the
operation
On-site confirmation of flow
 HACCP team should
diagram
confirm the processing
List all potential hazards, operation against the flow
conduct hazard analysis
chart
Tasks required to apply HACCP principle 1

Assemble HACCP team  HACCP team to list all

hazards reasonably
Describe product expected to occur at each
Identify intended use step in the food chain
Construct flow diagram  Assess hazards to
determine which should be
On-site confirmation of flow included in HACCP plan
diagram
 Consider what control
List all potential hazards, measures could be applied
conduct hazard analysis
for each hazard
Conducting hazard analysis

Control measure
Any action or activity that can be used to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard
or reduce it to an acceptable level

More than one control measure may be required to control a

specific hazard and more than one hazard may be controlled by a
specified control measure
HACCP principle 2
Determine critical control points (CCP)
Critical control point
A step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food
safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level

Step
A point, procedure, operation or stage in the food chain, including raw materials, from
primary production to final consumption
Applying HACCP principle 2
List all potential hazards,
conduct hazard analysis
Determine critical control
points
Establish critical limits
 Determination of CCPs can
be facilitated by application
of decision tree
 There may be more than
one CCP at which control
is applied to address the
same hazard
HACCP principle 3
Establish critical limits
Critical limit
A criterion that separates acceptability from unacceptability

Maximum load: 1 tonne

Maximum speed: 15 km/h

If you exceed the critical limit ...

The bridge will break
Critical limits
Establish critical limits
Critical limit
A criterion that separates acceptability from unacceptability
Applying HACCP principle 3
Determine critical control
points
Establish critical limits for
each CCP
Establish a monitoring system
 Critical limits must be
specified and validated for
each CCP
 More than one CL may be
elaborated at a particular
step
 Criteria commonly used
include Aw, time, pH,
temperature, etc.
 Critical limits are not
necessarily numerical
HACCP principle 4
Establish system to monitor control of the CCP

Control
The state wherein correct procedures are being followed and criteria are being met

Monitor
The act of conducting a planned sequence of observations or measurements of
control parameters to assess whether a CCP is under control
Applying HACCP principle 4

Establish critical limits for  Monitoring data should be

each CCP evaluated by designated
person with knowledge and
Establish a monitoring system authority to take action
 Frequency of monitoring
Establish corrective actions must be sufficient to ensure
effective control
HACCP principle 5
Establish the corrective action to be taken when
monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under
control

Corrective action
Any action to be taken when the results of monitoring at the CCP indicate a loss of control
Applying HACCP principle 5

Establish a monitoring system  Specific corrective actions

must be developed for each
CCP in the HACCP system in
Establish corrective actions order to deal with deviations
when they occur
Establish verification  Actions must ensure that the
procedures CCP has been brought under
control
 Deviation and product
disposition procedures must
be documented
HACCP principle 6
Establish procedures for verification to confirm
that the HACCP system is working effectively

Verification
The application of methods, procedures tests and other
evaluations, in addition to monitoring, to determine
compliance with the HACCP plan
Applying HACCP principle 6

 Establish procedures, including

Establish corrective actions random sampling and analysis to
determine if the HACCP system is
working correctly
Establish verification
procedures
 Validation should include actions to
Establish documentation confirm the efficacy of all elements in
the HACCP plan
systems
HACCP principle 7

Establish documentation concerning all

procedures and records appropriate to these
principles and their application
Applying HACCP principle 7

Establish verification  Documentation and record

procedures keeping should be appropriate
to the size and nature of the
Establish documentation and operation
record keeping systems  Documentation includes
 Hazard analysis; CCP and CL
determination
 Records of
 CCP monitoring; Deviations and
corrective actions
HACCP training
 Training in HACCP principles and their application
is required by

 Personnel in industry
 Government
 Academia

 Joint training among different stakeholder groups

could facilitate dialogue and collaboration
Industry HACCP plans
 Working instructions and procedures should be
developed for operating personnel

 Specific training for personnel can be developed to

support the HACCP plan according to their defined
tasks
Conclusions
 The HACCP system presents a logical and
systematic framework for enhancing food safety
management

 HACCP-based systems must apply all 7 principles

 HACCP is product and process specific

 Government and industry organizations have an

important role in applying HACCP-based systems
Assemble the HACCP Team Task 1
Initiating HACCP plan development

 Full commitment of management at all levels is

required before starting
 There should be an explicit statement of the intention of
management

 All personnel must be committed to the

implementation of HACCP
Coordinating HACCP plan development

A project coordinator is required to:

 Select the team responsible for developing the

HACCP plan
 Represent the team before management
 Assign responsibilities to team members
 Coordinate the work of the team
Selecting the HACCP team
 The right blend of expertise and experience is
important
 Team members should represent all departments of
the enterprise
 Production
 Sanitation
 Quality assurance
 Maintenance / engineering
Knowledge required
 Applied aspects of food microbiology
 The science and technology of the process
 Technology and equipment used on the processing
lines
 Practical aspects of unit operations and process flow
 HACCP principles and techniques
The case of small enterprises
 One person may fulfil more than one role
within the HACCP team
 Availability of external technical support is
important
Forming the team –
practical considerations
 One of the first tasks of the HACCP team is to
define the scope of the HACCP plan
 Limit the study to specific product or process
 Define the part of the food chain to be studied
 A time line and clear goals should be set for work
Starting the HACCP plan
 Team should include personnel involved in the daily
processing activities
 Familiarity with specific variability and limitations of operations
 Fosters a sense of ownership

 Complete reliance on outside experts is not

recommended

 Team should not be too large (~ 6) - additional

people may be temporarily co-opted for specific
tasks
Assigning responsibilities within the team

 The team coordinator is charged with distributing

the work and responsibilities among team members
 Tasks include
 Hazard identification
 Determination of CCPs
 Monitoring of CCPs
 Verification of operations at CCPs
 Examination of samples and performance of verification
procedures
Meetings of the HACCP team
 The required number of meetings depends on the
complexity and magnitude of operations

 Meetings should have clear objectives, planned

agenda and fixed duration

 The frequency of meetings should be

 High enough to maintain momentum
 Low enough to allow for adequate progress in the interval
Meetings of the HACCP team
 Meetings should be chaired by team coordinator

 Team members should be encouraged to freely

express their ideas during meetings
Resources for HACCP study
 Management must allocate the necessary resources
for the HACCP study, which may include

 Time for team meetings

 Costs of any initial training required
 Necessary documents
 Access to analytical laboratories
 Access to information resources as necessary
Summary
 Management must provide explicit and tangible
support to developing a HACCP plan
 The HACCP team must be carefully selected to
ensure
 Appropriate blend of knowledge and experience
 Smooth functioning of the team
 Commitment to implementing the plan
Describe Product and Identify Intended
Use – Tasks 2 & 3
Product description
 The team must have a complete understanding of
the product, including
 Details of product composition
 Details of processing procedures
 Properties, destination and use of the product

 Complete product description assists in the

identification of all potential hazards
Scope of product description
 Product description should cover
 Formulation
 Potential of product or constituents to support microbial
growth
 Packaging
 Processing methods / production technology
 Intended use and target consumer
Product formulation
 What raw materials and ingredients are used?
 List raw materials
 List product ingredients and additives
 List physical and chemical properties of the product and
constituents (pH, Aw, Eh)
Associated hazards
 List pathogens and other
hazards known to be
Raw materials associated with food

Physico-chemical  Consider source of raw

materials to assess potential
properties for contamination (e.g.
proximity to soil, special
Ingredients and requirements of the crop and its
additives production)
Packaging  Evaluate characteristics of
potential microbial
contaminants (e.g. limiting pH,
Aw, temperature, preservatives,
resistant adaptations)
Associated hazards
 pH, Aw and Eh ranges of
Raw materials raw materials and finished
product
Physico-chemical
properties  At these ranges is
microbial growth
Ingredients and prevented or pathogens
additives inactivated?
Packaging
 Impact of these
parameters on other
quality characteristics of
the product
Associated hazards
 Tabulate additives against
Raw materials concentrations and permitted
levels in product
Physico-chemical
properties  Consider role, properties and
mode of action of additives
Ingredients and
additives  Consider compatibility with
product/processing conditions
Packaging
 Consider hazards that might be
associated with other ingredients

Slide 53
Associated hazards
 List packaging materials used
Raw materials with raw material, intermediate
or final products
Physico-chemical
properties  Evaluate possibility of hazards
being introduced by the
Ingredients and packaging material
additives

Packaging  Evaluate impact of packaging on

growth and survival of micro-
organisms
Processing and handling checklist

 Possibility of contamination occurring during

processing, handling and preparation
 How much time is taken for each step of
processing, preparation, handling, storage?
Processing and handling checklist
 Will micro-organisms or toxic substances of
concern be inactivated during processing?

 Physical conditions imposed during processing

 Time course of processing
 Is processing based on scientific data
 Would more severe processing be acceptable?
Processing and handling checklist

 Possibility of re-contamination

 Shelf-life related to conditions during distribution

and utilisation by the consumer
Documentation
 The assessment made by the HACCP team
should be documented and retained for the
record

 Sample forms are provided for recording

essential elements of product description and
composition
Form 1 – product description

Product name
Important product
characteristics (Aw, pH, etc)
How the product is to be used
Packaging
Shelf-life
Where the product will be sold
Labelling instructions
Special distribution

Date: Approved By:

Completing Form 1 – an example

Packaging 1. bulk loaded in containers, 22t

Shelf-life 2. stacked in containers: 60kg sisal

sacks, 18t
Where the product will be sold To be blended, roasted and
repackaged before sale - boiling water
extraction into beverage

Date: Approved By:

Completing Form 1 – an example

Packaging Bulk loaded in containers, 22t

Stacked in containers: 60kg sisal
sacks,18t
Shelf-life 1 year
Where the product will be sold Domestic roaster/exporter
warehouse

Date: Approved By:

Form 1: product description –
example of currants

Labelling instructions Store in a cool, dry place

Special distribution control None

Date: Approved By:

Form 2 – product ingredients
and incoming material

Raw material Packaging material Ingredients

Date: Approved By:

Completing Form 2 – an example

Raw material Packaging material Ingredients

Dry coffee cherry 60kg sisal stitched sacks None
or lined / unlined
containers

Date: Approved By:

Summary
 A product description is prepared

 That considers product formulation and other incoming

materials
 That lists potential hazards
 That considers processing features and intended use
 Construct Flow Diagram
& On-site Confirmation of Flow Diagram (Tasks 4 & 5)
Why flow diagrams?
 How can we anticipate problems?

 By thinking through each step and identifying

potential hazards and possible control measures

 Constructing an accurate flow diagram is an

important task in the HACCP system
A good flow diagram
 Identifies all significant process steps used in
production of specific product being considered

 Process step definition – ‘A point, operation or

stage in the food chain, from primary production to
final consumption’

 Enough detail to facilitate hazard identification

without overburdening the plan
Constructing a flow diagram
 Flow charts constructed on the basis of
 Interviews
 Observations
 Blueprints or other documents
 Model form provided
Evaluating process steps
 For each step, all relevant process data should
be considered

 All ingredients and packaging

 Time / temperature history including potential for delay
 Product recycle / re-work loops
 Equipment design features
Completing Form 3 –
example of boia production

Coffee cherry Labelled jute bags Other ingredients

1. Harvesting 2. Receiving
3. Transport 4. Storing
5. Floatation
separation
… … …
25. Shipping

Date: Approved By:

What is a plant schematic?

 Diagrammatic representation of establishment

showing
 Product, ingredient flow
 Employee movement patterns
Why a plant schematic?
 Aids in the assessment of potential for cross
contamination
 Plant schematic may include
 Routes of potential cross contamination
 Personnel routes
 Area segregation
 Flow of ingredients, packaging, waste materials
Sample schematic –
Plant for production of currants

Co-operative shop Finance / extension

office

Control
QC
Processing
Indoor
lines
storage
Staff entrance

changing rooms
Fumigation
chambers

Staff
Packaging
Receipt of Outdoor Dispatch /
currants storage Packaged supplies in
product
On-site confirmation
 Draft flow diagrams and plant schematics must
be confirmed by on-site inspection
 All important process operations included
 Movement of product and employees on the premises
confirmed
 On-site confirmation
 Checks should be made at various times and
through all operational periods

 All members of the HACCP team should be

involved in the confirmation of the flow diagram

 Drafts adjusted according to findings of on-site

inspection
Summary
 We have looked at

 Understanding the importance of flow diagrams and plant

schematics
 Preparing flow diagrams
 Preparing a plant schematic
 Confirming accuracy of diagrams