Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

HACCP is an internationally recognized system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food.
A HACCP System requires that potential hazards are identified and controlled at specific points in the process. This includes biological, chemical or physical hazards.
Any company involved in the manufacturing, processing or handling of food products can use HACCP to minimize or eliminate food safety hazards in their product. Implementing a HACCP System requires that both Prerequisite Programs and HACCP Plans are implemented.

Why HACCP?

Awareness of food-borne illness is increasing and concern throughout the industry is driving the use of HACCP and HACCP based Program.

HACCP is based on seven principles:

Conduct a Hazard Analysis

This is where you evaluate your processes and identify where hazards can be introduced. Hazards can be physical (i.e. metal contamination), chemical (i.e. can a cleaning product contaminate the product, are there toxins that could contaminate the product?) or biological (at what points could bacteria or virus contaminate your product?). You will need to make sure that you have the expertise to make an accurate evaluation of the hazards. This means that if you do not have sufficient expertise in your organization you will need to identify external resources that you can use to perform the hazard analysis.
The hazard identification is done in two steps, first the identification of hazards, then an evaluation of the hazard. The hazard evaluation is a determination of the degree of risk to the user from the identified hazard. Once the hazard is identified and evaluated the team must identify critical control points. These are points where the hazard must be controlled or it will present a risk to the end user.

Identify the Critical Control Points

At what steps in your process can controls be applied to prevent or eliminate the hazards that have been identified? These are your critical control points. For each critical control point you will identify the preventive measure. How will you prevent the hazard?: Use of specific Temperature, ph, time, procedures?

Establish a maximum or minimum limit for temperature, time, pH, salt level, chlorine level or other processing characteristic that will control the hazard. This is the critical limit for the CCP. If this limit is ever exceeded corrective action must be taken, and all affected product controlled.

Establish Critical Limits

Your next step is to establish criteria for each critical control point. What criteria must be met to control the hazard at that point? Is it a minimum temperature? Are there regulatory limits that you must meet for this control point?

Establish Monitoring Procedures

What will you measure and how will you measure it? You need to monitor the process at the critical control point and keep records to show that the critical limits have been met. Can you do continuous monitoring of the control point? If not, how often will the measurements need to be performed to show that the process is under control?
The monitoring that takes place at the critical control points is essential to the effectiveness of the HACCP program. The monitoring program will be made up of physical measurement or observations that can be done in a timely manner, to provide the information in a time frame that allows you to take action and control product if an out of control situation occurs.

Establish Corrective Actions

You will establish what actions need to be taken if a critical limit is not met. This will be identified ahead of time for each CCP. The action must make sure that no unsafe product is released. There must also be an evaluation of the process to determine the cause of the problem and an elimination of the cause.
The action or actions taken have two purposes, to control any nonconforming product resulting from the loss of control, and to identify the cause, eliminate it and prevent the situation from reoccurring. By identifying the corrective action before an out of control situation occurs, you are prepared to take action quickly if and when it does occur.

Establish Record Keeping Procedures

You will determine what records are needed to show that the critical limits have been met, and the system is in control. Address regulatory requirements and include records from the development of the system and the operation of the system.

Establish Verification Procedures

The HACCP plan must be validated. Once the plan is in place, make sure it is effective in preventing the hazards identified. Test the end product, verify that the controls are working as planned. Perform ongoing verification of the system. Are measuring and monitoring equipment in control? What are corrective actions showing? Are records being maintained as required?

• Increase customer and consumer confidence
• Provides market protection
• Reduce costs through reduction of product losses and rework
• Reduce risks of recalls and product withdrawals thus reducing costs associated with insurance and business liability protection
• Increase focus and ownership of food safety
• Simplify inspections primarily because of record keeping and documentation
• Provide consistent quality product
• Demonstrates conformance to the product requirements and regulations

 

System Audits

An audit to verify that systems and applications are appropriate, efficient, and sufficiently controlled to certify valid, consistent, timely, and safe input, processing, and output at all levels of a system’s activity. System and process reassurance audits form a subtype, focusing on business process and IT systems. Such audits have the objective to assist financial auditors.

Project Audits

Project auditing is a formal type of “project review”, most often designed to evaluate the extent to which project management standards are being followed.  Audits are typically performed by a designated audit department, the “Project Management Office”, an empowered Steering Committee or an external auditor.  The audit “entity” must have the designated authority to conduct the audit and make related recommendations.

Going beyond practice verification, project audits are also performed as a “check and balance” to evaluate project quality, necessity, value, and to examine the root cause of known project problems and reported failures.  In order to meet these varied uses, audit scope may vary based on type, purpose and timing. Verification audits are pre planned, with the “subject project” selected according to established criteria.  On the other hand, quality assurance and problem response audits are initiated in response to the pressing needs of a troubled project, and in that sense, the project “selects itself”.

Technical Audits

Technical Audit is an audit performed by an auditor, engineer or subject-matter expert evaluates deficiencies or areas of improvement in a process, system or proposal. Technical audit covers the technical aspects of the project implemented in the organization. There are two types of system audits.

• Products Audits

A product audit — often referred to as a quality audit — is an inspection of a final product before delivering it to a supplier or a customer. Any company, including small businesses, should conduct regular product audits, as they help improve quality, increase profitability and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Before conducting a product audit, a small-business owner should determine what type of inspection should take place. If he has received complaints about a product, the internal quality control department can examine it and take action to resolve it. If an issue is widespread and covers several products, the owner may need to hire a consultant to perform an audit and suggest a corrective action. An external auditor must be familiar with the product and the production process, objective and unbiased.

• Process Audits

A process audit is an examination of results to determine whether the activities, resources and behaviours that cause them are being managed efficiently and effectively. A process audit is not simply following a trail through a department from input to output – this is a transaction audit. Processes generate results therefore for an audit to be a process audit it has to establish whether the results are being generated by an effectively managed process.

What is an effectively managed process?

An effective process is one that achieves the results that are intended – i.e. the objectives. An effectively managed process is a process in which the activities, resources and behaviours are planned, organized and controlled in a way that the outcomes meet specified objectives