HACCP IN FOOD SAFETY

HACCP, or the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system, is a process control system that identifies where hazards might occur in the food production process and puts into place stringent actions to take to prevent the hazards from occurring. By strictly monitoring and controlling each step of the process, there is less chance for hazards to occur. HACCP is important because it prioritizes and controls potential hazards in food production. By controlling major food risks, such as microbiological, chemical and physical contaminants, the industry can better assure consumers that its products are as safe as good science and technology allows. By reducing foodborne hazards, public health protection is strengthened.

While many public opinion studies report that consumers are concerned primarily about chemical residues, such as from pesticides and antibiotics, these hazards are nearly non-existent. The more significant hazards facing the food industry today are microbiological contaminants, such as Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Clostridium botulinum. HACCP is designed to focus on and control the most significant hazards. HACCP is not new. It was first used in the 1960s by the Pillsbury Company to produce the safest and highest quality food possible for astronauts in the space program. The National Academy of Sciences, National Advisory Committee for Mcirobiological Criteria for Foods, and the Codex Alimentarius have endorsed HACCP as the best process control system available today.

The main benefits of HACCP are:

§  Saves your business money in the long run

§  Avoids poisoning your customers

§  Food safety standards increase

§  Ensures you are compliant with the law

§  Food quality standards increase

§  Organizes your process to produce safe food

§  Organizes your staff promoting teamwork and efficiency

§  Due diligence defense in court.

Many of the nation's meat, poultry & other processing facilities have implemented some or all of the HACCP principles into their operations. Many companies have also provided HACCP training to management and in-plant workforce.

There are seven HACCP principles that must be followed to implement HACCP. Every food production process in a plant will need an individual HACCP plan that directly impacts the specifics of the product and process. Government and industry groups are developing some generic HACCP models that provide guidelines and directions for developing plant, process- and product-specific HACCP systems. The International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance has developed training curriculum to assist the meat and poultry industry.

Hence, HACCP has been increasingly applied to industries other than food, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This method, which in effect seeks to plan out unsafe practices based on science, differs from traditional "produce and sort" quality control methods that do nothing to prevent hazards from occurring and must identify them at the end of the process. HACCP is focused only on the health safety issues of a product and not the quality of the product, yet HACCP principles are the basis of most food quality and safety assurance systems.