It has been long recognised that microbiological contamination of foods is preventable and that the greatest hazards are associated with human error and mismanagement.

HACCP emerged as a result of collaborative work between the Pillsbury Company, US Army Natick Laboratories and the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). A system for preventing food safety hazards was required for application to foods intended for the space program. The principle on which HACCP is based is one of prevention. It is about defining the risks and controlling those processes to prevent a food safety problem occurring. Process control incorporating these elements emerged as the solution.

HACCP is a management system that incorporates all our knowledge of micro-organisms, understands the weaknesses in human nature and defines the risks associated with specific processes. Implementing a HACCP system to a food manufacturing process controls those risks.

Since its development HACCP has been taken up by food companies around the world, to help control the food production process. It is usually part of a wider quality assurance program.

There are seven key steps:

1. Hazard analysis. Work out what the hazards are within a process. eg. under cooking
2. Identify the critical control points. These are the steps where the really important things can go wrong, so they are critical to eliminating the hazards. A common Critical Control Point (CCP) is the temperature control for a cooking step.
3. Set the 'critical limits' for each critical control point. For a cooking step an example may be the pasteurization temperature and time. A minimum temperature and contact time would be defined.
4. Monitor the critical control points. A system would be put into place to monitor the temperature and time continuously in production. Any deviations could indicate a problem.
5. Establish corrective actions. These are the things you do when the monitoring shows there's a problem.
6. Verify that your HACCP system is working correctly. A good system alone is not adequate. It is important to regularly verify that the system is working and achieving its intended goal.
7. Set up records. You need to maintain records of these control steps so that they can be checked and assessed for deviations.

The sequence of events we recognise as HACCP will certainly work to control food safety concerns for microbiological, chemical and physical hazards. However, HACCP implementation requires diligence and training. HACCP is a discipline. It creates a culture that revolves around good management and systems that can be controlled and monitored.

LINKS:   Food Safety Programs for Industry

             Application of HACCP- USFDA

             HACCP-Codex alimentarius-FAO/WHO

More information: info@safefood.net.au