Food safety is a crucial concern for human health. In recent years, the issue of food safety has gained increasing attention and emphasis. To ensure food safety, businesses involved in food production and processing need to implement food safety management systems. One of the most common food safety management systems today is HACCP. In this article, GOL will explore what is HACCP and why is it important? as well as the concept of HACCP, the fundamental principles of HACCP, and the steps involved in building an HACCP system.

What is HACCP?

What does HACCP stand for?

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System, which is a food safety management system based on the principles of prevention, focusing on identifying and controlling hazards related to food safety. It is applied throughout the entire food chain, from production, processing, preservation, transportation to the final consumption stage.

Many countries worldwide mandate the application of HACCP in food production and processing. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) also recommends combining HACCP with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to enhance the effectiveness of ensuring food safety and hygiene.

Notably, for HACCP implementation, production facilities are required to adhere to GMP first. Without GMP standards, HACCP cannot be established.

Another concept to be aware of is CCP:

CCP stands for Critical Control Points, indicating points of control and limits in the process.

Read more: Why is food safety important to the Food Business?

How was HACCP developed?

The HACCP system was developed in the 1960s when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tasked Pillsbury to research and manufacture foods for their spaceflights. NASA needed to ensure that the food provided to astronauts was safe for their health, even in the harsh environmental conditions of space.

Pillsbury developed a food safety management system based on preventive principles, focusing on identifying and controlling hazards related to food safety. This system was named HACCP, an acronym for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System, signifying the “System for Analyzing Hazards and Controlling Critical Points.”

In the 1970s, HACCP proved effective in ensuring food safety for NASA’s flights. Subsequently, this system was widely adopted in the global food industry.

To establish HACCP as an international standard, in 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially published the first HACCP guidelines. Since then, HACCP has become an international standard for food safety, widely applied in the food industry, playing a crucial role in ensuring the quality and safety of food for consumers.

Why is HACCP used?

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a system that offers a framework for monitoring the entire food system, from harvesting to consumption, with the aim of minimizing the risk of foodborne illness. The system is structured to identify and manage potential issues before they arise.

Read more: Understanding risk assessment for food safety

Why are the HACCP Principles Important?

Adhering to safe food hygiene practices isn’t just a matter of best practice; it’s a legal obligation. One of the laws mandating compliance is the Food Safety Act 1990.

The Food Safety Act 1990 pertains to food standards, making it unlawful to:

• Produce food that poses a health hazard.
• Produce food that fails to meet food safety requirements.
• Produce food that deviates from the expected nature, substance, or quality for consumers.

Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, which has been retained in GB law, stipulates that: “Food business operators must establish, implement, and maintain a permanent procedure based on the Codex HACCP principles.”

Thus, it’s a legal obligation to have a food safety management system based on HACCP principles in place. In addition to ensuring compliance with food safety regulations, successfully implementing HACCP principles can:

• Prevent costly product recalls.
• Safeguard the business’s reputation.
• Enhance customer and consumer trust.
• Minimize the risk of contamination.
• Establish an effective traceability system.

While typically the responsibility of implementing the HACCP system falls on the food business owner, all employees share the responsibility of upholding it. Neglecting to handle and store food safely can result in various hazardous outcomes, such as fines, business loss, and significant health hazards for consumers.

What are the main components of HACCP?

The key contents of HACCP include:

• Evaluation and Control Tool: HACCP serves as a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems.
• Prevention Focus: HACCP emphasizes prevention over end-product testing.
• Application Throughout the Food Chain: HACCP is applied throughout the entire food chain, from the initial stages to the final consumption.
• Commitment and Participation: Successfully implementing HACCP requires commitment and participation from leadership and the entire business.
• Alignment with Quality Management Systems: HACCP is compatible with implementing ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and ISO 22000 Systems.

Characteristics of HACCP:

• Systematic: HACCP demands control over all aspects of the food processing, manufacturing, and supply process. Applying this standard helps businesses identify timely hazards, risks, and implement measures to maintain safety.
• Scientific Basis: All conclusions about hazards or control measures are based on evidence and scientific principles.
• Specialization: Depending on each product’s characteristics, there are specific risk assessments and appropriate control measures.
• Preventive: The primary purpose of HACCP is prevention rather than inspecting products after completion.
• Always Appropriate: The system is continually adjusted based on human factors, infrastructure, and surrounding information.
• Note: HACCP is a standard system designed to identify and minimize risks rather than completely eliminate all risks associated with food safety.

Who is HACCP applicable to?

The HACCP standard can be applied by any business participating in the food chain, encompassing all aspects of production and business processes. This includes:

• Food production, processing, and business facilities
• Export processing zones
• Food service providers (restaurants, hotels, etc.)
• Other units or organizations related to food

This wide-ranging applicability ensures that HACCP is a versatile and effective system for enhancing food safety across various industries and sectors.

The 7 Principles of HACCP

What is the 7 principles of HACCP? Seven basic principles are utilized in the development of HACCP plans to achieve the stated goal. These principles include hazard analysis, identification of critical control points (CCPs), establishment of critical limits, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, verification procedures, and record-keeping and documentation.

To better understand HACCP, it’s essential to explore the seven principles that constitute this system, as outlined below.

Conduct Hazard Analysis (Biological, Chemical, and Physical Hazards):

• In this principle, businesses need to identify areas where hazards may arise during the production process. Hazard identification involves recognizing potential hazards, followed by hazard assessment.
  Types of hazards include:
  • Physical Hazards: Metal contamination
  • Chemical Hazards: Cleaning product that may contaminate or have toxic properties
  • Biological Hazards: Areas where bacteria or viruses can infiltrate, causing product contamination.

Risk assessment involves determining the level of risk to consumers from the identified hazards. Once each hazard is identified and assessed, the team needs to determine Critical Control Points (points where the hazard must be controlled or poses a risk to the end consumer).

Identifying Critical Control Points (CCPs)

Can controls be applied to prevent or eliminate hazards identified in a specific step of the production process? Once determining the critical control points, you need preventive measures for the identified risks, such as specific timeframes, procedures, temperature, or pH levels…

Determining the Critical Limits of CCPs

• To establish the threshold for CCPs, follow these steps:
• Set a maximum or minimum limit: To effectively control hazards, establish a maximum or minimum limit for temperature, pH, microbial levels, time, or other processing parameters. These will be crucial limits, and exceeding them requires immediate corrective action, with tight control over affected products.
• Establish critical limits: After setting the maximum or minimum limits, establish criteria for each critical control point by answering questions such as: What criteria must be met to control the risk at that point? Is there a minimum temperature? Are there specific regulatory limits that you need to meet for this critical control point?

Establishing Control Procedures for Critical Limits

To set up control procedures for critical limits, pay attention to the following points:

• What will you measure or how will you measure it?
• You need to monitor the process at the CCP and keep records to show that the CCPs have been met.
• Can you continuously monitor the control points? If not, what measurements need to be taken to demonstrate that this process is well-controlled?

Therefore, monitoring at CCPs is crucial for the effectiveness of the HACCP program. Monitoring will be carried out by physical measurements or timely supervision.

Establishing Corrective Actions

If a critical limit is not met, you will establish the actions that need to be taken to correct it. This will be determined in advance for each CCP with a set deadline. Actions must always ensure that no unsafe product passes through. At the same time, there should be a process evaluation to identify the root cause of the problem and ways to eliminate it.

The establishment of corrective actions serves two main purposes:

• Firstly, to control any non-compliant products due to loss of control.
• Secondly, to identify the cause, eliminate it, and prevent this situation from recurring

Establishing Testing and Verification Procedures

The HACCP plan must be regularly updated to ensure its effectiveness in preventing identified hazards. Check the final products and verify that the process is working according to the plan. To carry out system verification, you need to answer the following questions:

• Is the measuring and monitoring equipment under control?
• What are the corrective actions for “incidents”?
• Are records maintained in accordance with requirements?

Establishing Recordkeeping and Documentation Procedures

The business will identify the necessary records and documents to demonstrate that critical limits have been met, ensuring the system is under control. Additionally, it addresses regulatory requirements, encompassing records from system development to its operational activities.

Read more: What is ultra-processed food? How does it affect health?

7 steps of HACCP

Step 1: Perform a hazard analysis: This step will assist you in identifying potential food hazards within your establishment. These may encompass the ingredients utilized (such as meat and seasonings), equipment employed (such as a meat grinder), chemicals present (such as cleaning agents that may come into contact with the meat), and personnel involved (including those responsible for preparing the pepperoni).

Step 2: Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs): In this step, you’ll ascertain which hazards identified in the initial step can be managed. For instance, you may specify that the meat will be cooked to a particular temperature to guarantee its safety for consumption.

Step 3: Set critical limits: As part of this step, you’ll establish precise limits for the critical control points. For instance, you may specify that the meat will be cooked to 155°F (68°C). If you plan to conduct bacteria testing, such as for Listeria, you should also establish limits for that.

Step 4: Establish a monitoring system: The monitoring step ensures that the critical limits are being adhered to. For instance, if a critical limit for producing pepperoni is cooking it to 155°F (68°C), then the monitoring system would involve using a thermometer to verify the temperature and documenting it in a temperature log.

Step 5: Establish corrective actions: Corrective actions are necessary when the critical limits are not met. For example, if the temperature requirement has not been met, you may need to cook it longer. In other cases, the food may need to be discarded. Following the plan for corrective action is crucial in preventing foodborne illness.

Step 6: Establish verification procedures: This step enables you to assess the effectiveness of your HACCP plan. Verification procedures may involve observing employees carry out tasks, such as taking temperatures and completing temperature logs. Make enhancements to your plan and collaborate with your regulatory authority to ensure your HACCP plan is optimized.

Step 7: Establish record-keeping procedures: Records for HACCP plans comprise the hazard analysis, the plan itself, and supporting documents for the critical limits. In this case, the supporting documents would likely include temperature logs. Store and maintain these records in an accessible location so that your employees can refer to them as needed.

The meaning and benefits of HACCP in food

Benefits for Consumers:

• Ensure improved health and reduce the risk of foodborne diseases, enhancing overall quality of life.
• Increase trust and peace of mind when consuming food.
• Raise awareness about food hygiene.

Benefits for Government:

• Improve the effectiveness of food control measures.
• Boost public confidence in the quality of provided food.
• Protect and enhance community health.
• Reduce costs associated with handling food poisoning incidents and treating illnesses caused by unsafe food.
• Create favorable conditions for commercial development.

Benefits for the Food Industry and Processing Businesses:

• Increase productivity, reduce production costs, and minimize product losses by addressing potential hazards to food safety throughout all production processes, from raw materials to processing, distribution, and effective control measures.
• Limit product spoilage, recalls, and associated costs, thus reducing production and handling expenses related to issues arising from unsafe products.
• Enhance customer and regulatory confidence.
• Complement existing Quality Management Systems.
• Improve the dynamic, responsibility, and job understanding of the workforce.
• Achieve international recognition, protect the product brand, increase competitiveness and marketing opportunities, and expand business and export potential in the food industry.

Some notes about US FDA rules

HACCP is a crucial process mandated by the FDA for canned food and seafood products. This is one of the requirements that food businesses must comply with when distributing products in the United States. The FDA also requires businesses to conduct pre- and post-production risk analysis following the rules of FSMA. The analysis of risks before the production process helps businesses identify potential hazards that may occur during manufacturing. Post-production risk analysis aids businesses in identifying potential hazards that may arise during transportation, distribution, and consumption processes.

In line with FDA guidelines, it’s crucial for food exporters and importers, including those in the animal food sector, to provide advance notice to the FDA 15 days before their shipments reach the U.S. This step is essential to avoid potential delays or penalties during customs clearance. For dependable assistance in navigating these regulations, companies can access GOL’s website, where expertise and efficiency work together for smooth advance notice filings.

For more valuable insights and to stay updated on vital regulations in the food industry, keep exploring articles on GOL. Dive into a wealth of information that simplifies complex topics. Click here to discover more articles and enrich your knowledge about essential compliance measures.

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