Principles of HACCP

Food Standard and Quality Control

Lesson 30: Hazards Anaysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)

Principles of HACCP

There are seven principles in this approach

  1. Identify potential hazards. Assess the risk (likelihood) of occurrence.
  2. Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs). Determine steps that can be controlled to eliminate or minimize the hazard.
  3. Establish the criteria (tolerances, target level) that must be met to ensure that CCP is under control.
  4. Establish a monitoring system.
  5. Establish the corrective action when CCP is not under control.
  6. Establish procedures for verification.
  7. Establish documentation and record keeping.

The seven principles, on which HACCP is based, are described as follows:

Principle 1 : Conduct a hazard analysis
Identify the potential hazard(s) associated with food production at all stages, from primary production, processing, manufacture and distribution until the point of consumption. Assess the likelihood of occurrence of the hazard(s) and identify the measures for their control.

Principle I describes where the HACCP team should start. A process flow diagram is put together detailing all the steps in the process, from incoming raw material to the final product. When complete, the HACCP team identifies all the hazards, which could occur at each stage and describes preventive
measures for their control. These may be existing or required preventive measures.

Principle 2 : Determinet he Critical Control Points (CCP)
Determine the points, procedures or operational steps that can be controlled to eliminate the hazard(s) or minimize its (their) likelihood of occurrence. The HACCP team establishes the points where control is critical to managing the safety of the product. These are the critical control point.

Principle 3 : Establish critical limit(s)for preventive measures associated with each identified CCP
The Critical limits describe the difference between safe and unsafe product at the CCP's. These must involve a measurable parameter and may also be known as the absolute tolerance to CCP.

Principle 4 : Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.
Establish procedures from the results of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain control. The HACCP team should specify monitoring requirements for management of CCP within its critical limits i.e. establish a system to monitor control of the CCP by scheduled testing or observations.
This will involve specifying monitoring actions along with frequency and responsibility.

Principle 5 : Establish Corrective Actions
Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control. Corrective action procedures and responsibilities for their implementation need to be specified. This will need action to bring the process back under control and action to deal with product manufactured when the process was out of control.

Principle 6: Establish procedures for verification to confirm that theHACCP system is working effectively.
Verification procedures must be developed to maintain the HACCP system and ensure that it continues to work continuously and effectively. Verification may be broken down into three categories

  1. Validation
  2. Verification
  3. Reassessment
  1. VaIidation
    Test that the process with the Critical Limits prevent, eliminate, or reduce the hazard to acceptable level If a hot deli serving table is to maintain food above 140°F, then validate that it does.
  2. Verification
    Assure that all required information is written down and documented. If cleaning of equipment is stated in the Hazard Analysis, then check that cleaning is done. Do what you say and say what you do.Verify the written statements.
  3. Reassessment
    1. Do at least annually.
    2. Consider potential new hazards.
    3. Examine changes in the preparation, raw materials or raw ingredients, personnel, packaging of the finished product, or any other changes that could affect the hazard analysis.

Principle 7: Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.
Records must be kept to demonstrate that the HACCP system is operating under control and the appropriate corrective action has been taken for any deviation from the critical limits. This will demonstrate safe product manufacture.

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Last modified: Wednesday, 22 February 2012, 11:06 AM