HACCP Guidelines
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a food safety management system which allow to identify the potential hazards associated with food production at all stages up to the point of consumption.
There are seven universally-accepted HACCP principles. Every country that uses HACCP follows these principles.
Principle 1: The first principle is hazard analysis. At this stage, a plan is laid out to identify
- all possible food safety hazards that could cause a product to be unsafe for consumption, and
- the measures that can be taken to control those hazards.
Principle 2: The second principle is identifying critical control points. These are the points in the production process where an action can be taken to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level.
Principle 3: The third principle is establishing critical limits for each critical control point. A critical limit is the limit at which a hazard is acceptable without compromising food safety.
Principle 4: The fourth principle is establishing monitoring procedures for critical control points. Highly detailed monitoring activities are essential to make sure the process continues to operate safely and within the critical limits at each critical control point.
Principle 5: The fifth principle is crucial: establishing corrective actions. These actions must be taken to bring the production process back on track if monitoring indicates that deviation from critical limits has occurred. In food production, correcting problems before end-stage production is far more effective than waiting until a product is finished to test it.
Principle 6: The sixth principle is establishing verification procedures. Verification means applying methods, procedures, tests, sampling and other evaluations (in addition to monitoring) to determine whether a control measure at a critical control point is or has been operating as intended. Verification activities also ensure that the monitoring and the corrective actions are done according to a company’s written HACCP program.
Principle 7: The seventh principle is record keeping. Records must be kept by the company to
- demonstrate the effective application of the critical control points, and
- assist with official verification (which is done, in Canada, by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency).
Records must be established to document
- the monitoring and verification results, and
- all information and actions taken in response to any deviations found through monitoring and verification.
Capella Innovation can help the industry assess the likelihood of occurrence of the hazards in their facility and identify the preventive measures for their control.
We can also help determine 1-critical control points, 2-establish critical limits and 3- establish corrective actions at specific points of the food production process.
Applicable Tests:
i. Biological Hazards: Bacteria : (Listeria species and Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Clostridium, APC, Coliform/E.coli indicators of bacterial load, pathogen indicator and fecal contamination) Virus, Parasites, Moulds
ii. Chemical Hazards : Naturally occurring hazards, Food allergens, Unintentionally added hazards
iii. Physical Hazards Cross-Contamination, extraneous materials (plastic, glass …)