HACCP overview

http://www.foodsafetywatch.com

HACCP overview

Richard Lawley – September 2008

HACCP

Richard Lawley - September 2008

What is HACCP?

HACCP is an acronym for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, a science-based food safety management system that has become the preferred method of ensuring safe food all over the world. The HACCP approach to food safety is based on a detailed examination of every stage in the production process for an individual food product. The objective is to identify where and when hazards could occur and to design effective controls for each hazard. In other words, HACCP anticipates food safety hazards in a process and builds in safeguards to prevent them occurring.

HACCP has its origins in the US manned space flight programme of the 1960s and '70s. It was vital that the food provided for astronauts was completely free from foodborne pathogens and other hazards, since any illness in flight would have serious consequences. NASA, in collaboration with the Pillsbury Company, therefore adapted analytical techniques used to anticipate failures in the engineering industry to develop the first HACCP system.

This early version of HACCP has since been further developed by the food industry and over the last 20 years it has been widely adopted by many food manufacturers. More recently, HACCP has increasingly become a basic requirement of complying with food safety regulations in many countries.

HACCP basics

The HACCP system is based on, and defined by, seven underlying principles. However, these principles use some important terminology that needs to be defined first.

Definitions

Control measure - An action or an activity that can be used to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level.

Corrective action - An action to be taken when loss of control at a CCP is indicated by monitoring.

Critical Control Point (CCP) - A step in the production process at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level.

Critical limit - A predetermined value for a control measure marking the division between acceptability and unacceptability.

Hazard - A biological, chemical, or physical agent in, or property of, food that has the potential to cause an adverse effect on consumer health.

Hazard analysis - The process of collecting and assessing information on the hazards and the conditions leading to their presence to determine which are significant for food safety and should therefore be addressed in the HACCP plan.

Monitoring - Conducting a planned sequence of observations or measurements of control parameters to assess whether a CCP is under control.

Step - A raw material, location, procedure, operation or stage in the food production process from primary production to final consumption.

Validation - Obtaining evidence that the elements of the HACCP plan are effective.

Verification - The application of supplementary information, including methods, tests and other evaluations, in addition to monitoring to determine the effectiveness of the HACCP plan.

The seven HACCP principles

Conduct a hazard analysis (identify hazards and control measures)
Identify the critical control points (CCPs)
Establish the critical limit(s) for each CCP
Establish a system to monitor control of the CCPs
Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a CCP is not under control.
Establish verification procedures to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively.
Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.

The application of HACCP

Although HACCP has been shown to be an effective means of managing food safety, there are a number of prerequisites for the successful application of the HACCP principles.

It is essential that any food business is already aware of appropriate food safety requirements and good hygiene practice before developing a HACCP plan. HACCP is not a substitute for basic hygiene and good manufacturing practice. Adequate staff training procedures should also be established in advance of applying HACCP principles.

A high degree of management commitment is also necessary for the successful application of HACCP. A food safety management system that does not have the full backing of the managers implementing it is unlikely to be effective. Clear definition of individual responsibilities with regard to the HACCP system is also essential.

Finally it is essential that managers and staff have appropriate knowledge and skills to undertake a HACCP study and some training is likely to be required. Smaller businesses may lack the technical and scientific expertise needed to identify and evaluate hazards and controls. It may therefore be necessary to seek expert advice and support from trade associations, independent consultants, or enforcement officers. A great deal of information about HACCP and its application is freely available and some web-based resources are listed below.

Stages of the HACCP process

1. Assemble the HACCP team

The development of an effective HACCP plan normally requires a multidisciplinary team to ensure that appropriate product-specific expertise and knowledge is available. The team should comprise individuals familiar with all aspects of the production process, plus specialists with expertise in specific areas, such as engineering or microbiology. It may be necessary to use external sources of expertise in some cases.

The scope of the HACCP study should be determined by defining the extent of the production process being considered and identifying the classes of hazard being addressed (e.g. biological, chemical, and/or physical hazards).

2. Describe the product

It is important to have a complete understanding of the product, which should be described in detail. The description should include all relevant safety information and should cover factors such as composition, physical and chemical structure (including A_w, pH etc), processing conditions (e.g. heat-treatment, freezing, fermentation, curing, smoking etc), packaging, shelf life, storage and distribution conditions and use instructions. Where a range of similar products are being considered, these can be grouped together if their characteristics and processing steps are similar.

3. Identify intended use

The intended use should be based on the expected uses of the product by the end-user or consumer (e.g. is a cooking or reheating process required?). It is also important to identify the consumer target groups. Vulnerable groups, such as children or the elderly, may need to be considered specifically.

4. Construct flow diagram

The HACCP team should construct an accurate and detailed flow diagram of the manufacturing process being considered covering every individual step and providing sufficient technical data for the study to progress. It should provide an accurate representation of each step from raw materials to end product and may include details of the factory and equipment layout, ingredient specifications, features of equipment design, time/temperature data, cleaning and hygiene procedures and storage conditions. The same flow diagram can be used where a range of similar products are being produced on the same line.

5. On site confirmation of the flow diagram

The HACCP team should confirm that the flow diagram it has drawn up matches the process that is actually carried out in practice. The operation should be observed at each stage and any discrepancies between the diagram and normal practice should be recorded. The diagram should then be amended to take these discrepancies into account. The production process should also be observed outside normal working hours, such as during night shifts, as practice may vary between shifts. It is essential that the flow diagram is accurate, since the hazard analysis and identification of CCPs relies on the data it contains.

6. List all potential hazards associated with each step, conduct a hazard analysis and identify control measures for each hazard

The HACCP team should list all hazards that may reasonably be expected to occur at each step in the production process.

The team should then conduct a hazard analysis to identify those hazards that are of such a nature that their elimination, or reduction to acceptable levels is essential to the production of safe food.

Wherever possible, the hazard analysis should include consideration of:

the likely occurrence of hazards and the severity of their adverse health effects;
the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the presence of the hazards;
survival or multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms;
production or persistence in foods of toxins, chemicals or physical agents;
conditions leading to the above.

The HACCP team should then consider what control measures exist that can be applied to each hazard identified. Some hazards may require more than one control measure for adequate control and a single control measure may act to control more than one hazard.

Note: it is important that no attempt is made to identify CCPs at this stage as this may disrupt the analysis.

7. Determine critical control points

The determination of the CCPs is the key stage in a HACCP study, since the final HACCP plan will focus on the control and monitoring of the process at these points. It is vital that the HACCP team has sufficient technical data to determine the CCPs effectively and it is also important to be aware that more than one CCP may exist for a single hazard.

The determination of a CCP can be facilitated by the use of a decision tree (diagram 2.) to provide a logical, structured approach to the decision making. However, the decision tree is for guidance only and its application should be flexible. Its use may not always be appropriate. Training in the effective use of the decision tree is recommended.

If a realistic hazard has been identified at a step where control is necessary for safety, and no control exists at that step, or any other, then the production process should be modified to include a control measure.

8. Establish critical limits for each CCP

Critical limits must be specified and validated for each CCP. More than one critical limit may be defined for a single step. For example, it is usually necessary to specify both time and temperature for a thermal process. Criteria used to set critical limits must be measurable and often include measurements of temperature, time, moisture level, pH, A_w, available chlorine, and sensory parameters, such as visual appearance and texture.

9. Establish a monitoring system for each CCP

Monitoring is the planned and scheduled measurement or observation of a CCP relative to its critical limits. The monitoring procedures must be able to detect loss of control at the CCP and should provide this information in time to make appropriate adjustments so that control of the process is regained before the critical limits are violated. Where possible, process adjustments should be made when monitoring results indicate a trend towards a loss of control at a CCP.

Monitoring should either be continuous, or carried out sufficiently frequently to ensure control at the CCP. Monitoring procedures for CCPs must be rapid so that results are available quickly enough to maintain control at the CCP. Therefore, physical and chemical on-line measurements are usually preferred to lengthy microbiological testing.

The information derived from monitoring must be evaluated by a designated individual who has the knowledge, training and authority needed to act effectively on the basis of the data. The data must also be properly documented and recorded by that person.

10. Establish corrective actions

For each CCP in the HACCP plan, specific corrective actions must be developed that can be applied when the CCP is not under control. If monitoring indicates a deviation from the critical limits for a CCP, action must be taken that will bring it back under control. Actions taken should include proper isolation and disposition of any affected product and all corrective actions taken should be recorded and documented.

11. Establish verification procedures

Verification and auditing methods, procedures and tests, including product sampling and analysis, should be used frequently to determine whether the HACCP system is working correctly.

Responsibility for verification activities should be given to someone other than the individual responsible for monitoring and corrective actions. In some cases, this may mean that verification activities are performed by external experts.

Verification procedures should include detailed reviews of all aspects of the HACCP system and its records. The documentation should confirm that CCPs are under control and should also indicate the nature and extent of any deviations from the critical limits and the corrective actions taken in each case. Information such as customer complaints and returns may also be useful for verification.

12. Establish documentation and record keeping

Efficient and accurate record keeping is an essential element of the application of a HACCP system. All HACCP procedures should be documented. However, documentation and record keeping should be appropriate to the nature and size of the operation, but sufficient to ensure that the business is able to verify that controls are in place and are being properly maintained.

Examples of appropriate documentation include:

Hazard analysis
CCP determination
Critical limit determination

Examples of appropriate recorded data are:

CCP monitoring activities and results
Deviations from critical limits and corrective actions taken
Verification procedures performed
Modifications to the HACCP plan

A record keeping system should be clear and simple so that it can be easily maintained and communicated. It may be helpful to integrate HACCP records with other documentation. For example, product temperatures can be recorded on delivery invoices.

Review of the HACCP plan

It is important to remember that a HACCP plan is a dynamic system and must be kept up to date at all times.

The plan must be reviewed following any changes to the production process, including changes to raw materials, processing conditions or equipment, packaging, cleaning procedures and any other factor that may have an effect on product safety. Even small modifications to the product or process can invalidate the HACCP plan and introduce potential hazards. The implications of any such changes to the overall HACCP system must be fully considered and documented and adjustments made to procedures as necessary.

Sources of further information

Published

Taylor, E. & Taylor, J.

HACCP: 12 Steps to Success (second edition)

Manchester, Practical HACCP Publishing, 2006.

Mayes, A. & Mortimore, S.

Making the Most of HACCP: Learning from Others' Experience

Cambridge, Woodhead Publishing, 2001.

Mortimore, S., Wallace, C. & Cassianos, C.

HACCP (Food Industry Briefing)

Oxford, Blackwell Science, 2001.

Mortimore, S. & Wallace, C.