Website design By BotEap.comIn 1998, the US Department of Agriculture also established HACCP for meat and poultry processing plants. Most of these establishments were to begin using HACCP in January 1999. Very small plants had until January 1999. 25, 2000. (USDA regulates meat and poultry; FDA all other foods).
Website design By BotEap.comHACCP has been endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, the Codex Food Commission, and the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods. The 7 key principles of food hazards are discussed in the article. The FDA is now considering developing regulations that would establish HACCP as the food safety standard in other areas of the food industry, including domestic and imported food products.
Website design By BotEap.comSeveral US food companies are already using the system in their manufacturing processes, and it is in use in other countries, including Canada.
Website design By BotEap.com7 Key HACCP Principles for Controlling Food Hazards
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Analyze the dangers: Potential hazards associated with a food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could be biological, such as a microbe; chemical, like a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal shards.
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Identify critical control points: These are points in the production of a food from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the consumer where the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Some examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detecting.
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Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point: For a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and the time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
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Establish procedures to monitor critical control points: Such procedures may include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored.
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Establish corrective actions: Corrective action should be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been reached; for example, reprocessing or discarding food if the minimum cooking temperature is not reached.
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Establish procedures to verify that the system works correctly: for example, testing time and temperature recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
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Establish an effective record to maintain the HACCP system document: This would include records of hazards and their control methods, monitoring of safety requirements, and actions taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be supported by sound scientific knowledge: for example, published microbiological studies on time and temperature factors to control foodborne pathogens.
