HACCP

Basics
 Objectives
•To understand the need for HACCP
•To understand the benefit of HACCP
•To understand the principles of HACCP
•To understand the management and resource
requirements
•To understand how to prepare a HACCP plan
•To understand how to implement a HACCP plan
•To understand how to document the system
•To understand how to ensure on going HACCP
compliance
 What Is HACCP?
•The Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point System
•A Preventative Approach
•A Powerful Product Safety
Management Technique
•A Proven and Structured Method
for Hazard Identification and
Control
 What Is a Hazard?

A Biological, Chemical or
Physical agent, in, condition
of, food with the potential to
cause an adverse health
effect.
 Biological Hazards

•Pathogenic Bacteria- Salmonella, E-

Coli, Listeria, etc.
•Parasites and Protozoa- Flatworms,
Tapeworms, Flukes, etc.
•Viruses- Viral Gastroenteritis,
Hepatitis A, etc.
•Moulds
 Chemical Hazards
•Cleaning Chemicals
•Pesticides
•Ink/Adhesive
•Toxic Metals
•Pest Control
•Refrigerants
•Fumes/Dust
 Physical Hazards
•People - buttons, jewellery,
drawing pins, paper clips,
matchsticks, pens.
•Natural Material - bone, nut
shells, seeds, fruit stones.
•Environment – glass, wood, chips
from tiles, concrete.
•Equipment.
•Pests
 Why Use HACCP?

•The management of product

safety- The commercial implications
of a potential major food incident.
•Limitations of traditional Quality
Control – Traditional reliance is
placed on random sampling.
•External pressures- Customers,
Media, Legislation.
 Major Food Incidents
•Food – Eggs, Country-UK, Contaminate-Salmonella,
Cause-Contamination during process, Number of
Ill/effect- 81, Cost-£3 Million
• Food- French fries, Country-USA, Contaminate-Wire
Bristles, Cause-Incorrect action at metal detector,
Number of Ill/effect-8Mlbs of potatoes destroyed, Cost-
$4 Million.
•Food-Coca Cola, Country-UK, Contaminate-Fungicide,
Cause-contamination through packaging, Number of
Ill/effect-50 Million cans recalled, Cost-£60 Million.
Legislative Requirements

EC directive on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs

“ A proprietor of a food business shall
identify any step in the activities of the food
business which is critical to ensure food
safety and ensure that adequate safety
procedures are identified,
implemented,maintained and reviewed on
the basis of the following
principles……………………………………………………..
 Legislative Requirements

•“ Analysis of the potential food hazards in a food business

operation;
•Identification of the points in these operations where food
hazards may occur;
•Deciding which of the points identified are critical to
ensure food safety;
•Identification and implementation of effective control and
monitoring procedures at those points; and
•Review the analysis of food hazards, the critical points
and the control and monitoring procedures periodically,
and whenever the food business’s operations change.”
 Legislative Requirements
General Product Safety Directive ( 92/95EEC)

Producers shall:
“ Adopt measures commensurate with
the characteristics of the products
which they supply, to enable them to
be informed of risks which these
products might present and to take
appropriate action….”
 What Is the Risk?

An estimate of the likelihood of

the hazard occurring and its
potential adverse health effects.
Definition of a Control Measure

Any action or activity that can be

used to prevent or eliminate a food
safety hazard or to reduce it to
acceptable levels.

( Factors capable of control)

 The HACCP Team

•A multi-disciplinary team effort

•Team leader to be appointed
•Minimum core HACCP team should ideally
consist of; Quality Assurance/Technical,
Operations or Production, Engineering.
•Additional expertise may be provided from;
Research and Development, Distribution,
Purchasing,Human Resources.
Prerequisite Programmes

Well-planned prerequisite
programmes will effectively design
out generalised hazards that apply
to the whole operation, leaving
HACCP to deal with the specific
product-process hazards.
 What Is a Prerequisite
Programme?
Prerequisites are normally systems in their own
right and can be classified as the following;
•Quality Management Systems
•Good Manufacturing Systems
•Personnel (health screening) and Training
•Preventive Maintenance
•Calibration
•Pest Control
•Supplier Quality Assurance
•Traceability
 How to Do a HACCP Study
Define the Scope of the Study
•Classes of Hazard( Micro/Chemical/Physical)
•Process/Food chain segment
•Limits of study( define start and finish of the process)

Describe the Product and identify intended use

•Principle raw materials
•Composition/Formulation
•Packaging
•Storage conditions and durability
•Distribution
 How to Do a HACCP Study

Construct a Process Flow Diagram

•Raw materials
•Process activities
•Temperature and time data
•Equipment design features
•Storage conditions

Validate the Process Flow Diagram

•An accurate representation of the process at ALL times
 How to Do a HACCP Study

Conduct a Hazard Analysis

•What are the hazards
•What is the risk
•What are the control measures

Identify Critical Control Points

•When all hazards and control measures have been
described, the HACCP team establishes the points where
control is critical to assuring the safety of the product.
•The CCP is a step which control can be applied and is
essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or
reduce it to acceptable levels( Codex Alimentarius)
 How to Do a HACCP Study

Identify Critical Limits

•Set a critical limit for each CCP- this describes the
difference between safe and unsafe product at the CCP.
•They must involve a measurable parameter and may also
be known as the absolute tolerance or safety limit for the
CCP.
•Examples as follows;
Chemical limits- Max pH 4.5 ( Hazard:Listeria growth)
control measure:formulation pH.
Physical limits- 71.7c for 15 seconds ( Hazard; salmonella
survival) control measure: milk pasturised
How to Do a HACCP Study

Critical Limit- Target Levels

•Control criteria which are more stringent than Critical
limits.
•Can be used to take action and reduce risk of a
deviation.
For Example;
During the cooking of raw chicken portions, the critical
limit is 70˚C for 2 minutes. A target level of 74˚C has
been set which has been determined as the ideal cooking
temperature. This establishes a safety buffer zone to
reduce the potential hazard of the survival of salmonella.
 How to Do a HACCP Study

Identifying monitoring procedures

•A planned sequence of measurements or observations of
control parameters to assess whether a CCP is under
control.
•Broken down into 3 main areas; Procedure,Frequency and
Responsibility.
•Must be able to detect a loss of control at the CCP( where
it has deviated from its critical limits) as it is on the basis
of the monitoring results that decisions are made and
action is taken.
How to Do a HACCP Study

Monitoring procedures may involve

•On-Line systems, where critical factors are measured
during the process - these may be continuous systems
where critical data are continuously recorded.
•Off-Line systems, where samples are taken for
measurement of the critical factors elsewhere - this has
the disadvantage that the sample taken may not fully
represent the whole batch.
•Observational procedures, where specific action is
observed by the monitor. For example, observation by a
supervisor that the operator is following the correct
debag procedure correctly.
 How to Do a HACCP study
Establish corrective action
•The HACCP principle requires that corrective action is to be taken
when monitoring results show deviation from the critical limit(s) at
a CCP.
•The HACCP plan is therefore likely to have two levels of corrective
action, i.e. actions to prevent deviation and actions to correct
following a deviation.
•Corrective actions should be developed by the HACCP team and
should be specified on the HACCP Control Chart.
•Responsibilities must be assigned for corrective action both to
prevent and correct deviations.
•Senior management will be appropriate where the corrective
actions involve shutting down plant for periods of time or where
disposal actions are required.
Putting the Plan into practice
•Validation of the HACCP plan – can it work, is the flow diagram accurate
to the process, have all hazards been accounted for?- obtain evidence
that the elements of the plan are effective.
•Training of all relevant personnel – Essential for effective HACCP
implementation, Awareness training for all staff, Specific training for CCP
monitors.
•CCP monitoring – the act of conducting a planned sequence of
observations or measurements of control parameters to assess whether a
CCP is under control.
•Reporting deviations from Critical Limits- records are essential to provide
evidence of safe food production, sign off and review procedures.
•Taking defined corrective actions- decide who is responsible and at what
level.
•Keep adequate records.
•Review and verify the HACCP.
Maintaining the HACCP System
•Verification activities
HACCP Audits - A systematic and independent examination to
determine whether the HACCP plan is effective (validation) and
compliance with the documented HACCP plan ( verification).
Data Analysis and Review – Should be reviewed on a regular basis to
identify trends and allow improvements to be made.

•Maintenance activities
Keeping up to date with hazard issues – are better control measures
or monitoring procedures now available?
Ongoing Training – Ensures that new personnel understand the
HACCP system and their individual role.
Ensuring the HACCP plan continues to be current – manage any
changes in process or equipment to ensure the hazards/risks do not
arise or increase.