Concept Of Haccp (hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points)

By Author: BD Food Safety
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Hazard analysis and critical control points or HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe, and designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level.

HACCP is a global standard, developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s by a team of engineers and scientists from three distinctly different organizations. Pillsbury, the Army’s Natick Research Labs, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joined forces to draft and adopt a global, food-safety standard … HACCP was originally developed as a way to ensure built-in quality and food safety, specifically for the manned space program, though it has evolved greatly since that point in time.

In 1997, 7 principles of HACCP were defined and its final version is still current today. Codex Alimentarius adopted HACCP principles as internationally recognized standard for food safety.

Very often people identify HACCP as a standalone process not requiring support. This is approach is wrong as HACCP is a system ...
... rather than an independent Program.

In order to build effective HACCP system an organization needs to assure that solid foundations such as GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) and PRPs (Pre – Requisite Programs) are in place. Only companies that have well designed and properly functioning Programs can build effective HACCP plan.

In addition to GMPs and PRPs, there are several preliminary steps that must be taken prior to developing your HACCP plan. First and the most important step would be to build your HACCP team and designate HACCP coordinator. Next, in order to fully understand hazards associated with food that is being produced, you need to properly identify the product. And finally, create a flow chart of processing steps that will be useful in hazard analysis process.

HACCP plans are designed using 7 HACCP Principles – 1) HAZARD Analysis, 2) Identify Critical Control Points, 3) Establish Critical Limits for each Critical Control Point, 4) Establish Monitoring Procedures, 5) Establish Verification Procedures, 6) Verification Procedures, 7) Record Keeping Procedures.

Keep in mind that all HACCP plans must be verified and validated. It is recommended that all new HACCP plans are validated after 90 days. HACCP Plan reassessments must be done at least annually or when necessary.

Having well-functioning HACCP system in food manufacturing operation is a must, not only to protect company liability but also to meet regulatory requirements or to achieve GFSI certification.