HACCP - What is it?
HACCP is
a management tool that provides a more structured approach to the control of
identified hazards than that achievable by traditional inspection and quality
control procedures. It has the potential to identify areas of concern where
failure has not yet been experienced and is, therefore, particularly useful
for new operations.
In the 1960’s, NASA was
looking for a way to guarantee that the food for astronauts on space flights
was totally safe - the prospect of astronauts suffering food poisoning during a
mission was just unthinkable. They gave the task of producing "Zero Defect" food
to the Pilsbury Corporation who responded by developing the system of Hazard
Analysis - Critical Control Points or HACCP (pronounced Hassap).
HACCP has today been the subject of an
enormous amount of study. It has been incorporated into the World Health Organization
/ Food and Agriculture Organization standard, The Codex Alimentarius and
is now required of all food businesses in Europe under EC Directive 93/43.
PRINCIPLES
WHO/FAO define seven basic principles of
HACCP:
Principle 1:
Conduct a hazard analysis. Prepare a
flow diagram of the steps in the process.
Identify and list the hazards and
specify the control measures.
Principle 2:
Identify the Critical Control Points in
the process using a decision tree.
Principle 3:
Establish target level(s) and tolerance(s)which
must be met to ensure each CCP is under control.
Principle 4:
Establish a monitoring system to ensure
control of the CCP by scheduled testing or observations.
Principle 5
:
Establish the corrective action to
be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is moving out of
control.
Principle6:
Establish documentation concerning all
procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.
Principle 7:
Establish verification procedures which
include appropriate supplementary tests, together with a review which confirms
that HACCP is working effectively.