HACCPT H E B A S I C S

A q u i c k g u i d e t o w h a t i t s a l l a b o u t

A l i m e n t i F o o d S c i e n c e s L t d

ABOUT ME

Hello, Thank you for downloading my eBook about HACCP. I am Louise

Roberts and Alimenti Food Sciences Ltd is all about food safety.

If you are looking for a food safety management system that can save you time and give you peace of mind. Look at my website,

https://alimenti.co.uk

Do you ever wonder if your food safety paperwork is working for you? Are you confident that your food safety paperwork would protect you if

you needed it for a due diligence defence? Are you targeting bigger customers that want lots of documentation or even an accreditation?

I understand.

It’s hard to find time for food safety paperwork when you’re busy

producing amazing food or drink.

Read about the basics of HACCP, the risk assessment system for food premises, and if you have questions, get in touch.

Louise

HACCP or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point is the start of the food safety management system (FSMS), for any food business, and is key for any growing food business. It is the risk assessment system used for food.

It can help you to review your business and understand the process of production.

HACCP

The engineering industry developed HACCP as a quality system. It is a way of ensuring that products are manufactured to specification at the

end of the production line. This is rather than testing each one, possibly to destruction. It is also used to ensure product safety.

The food industry adopted HACCP in the 1960s to produce the food for the space program. The idea of astronauts having food poisoning in

space, doesn’t bear thinking about!

History

It is a legal requirement in the UK for any food or drink business to have a HACCP plan or study (EU Regulation 852/2004). In the UK the Food Standards Agency also produces a document called Safer Food Better

Business, aimed at small food and drink businesses. Best practice is for the study to also follow the seven principles of Codex Alimentarius (at

the back of the ebook).

Why do I need one?

HACCP TeamThe hazard analysis is best undertaken by a team. It is important that

each area of the business, such as buying and engineering, has a representative in the team. This makes sure that all areas of the

business are represented. There should be at least one member of the team having formal qualifications in HACCP. Each team member needs to understand how to use the HACCP principles to assess a

process/es. This will involve training.

HACCP Review and MaintenanceReview the plan formally on a regular basis and when you add a new

type of product or change the production process.

Alimenti can act as the expert team member for your team. It is important to document the study and any reviews, as well as details of the HACCP team. It is imperative that the team at the manufacturing

site takes responsibility for implementing and and developing the food safety management system and that it becomes second nature.

What are the risks that I am assessing?

The risks that are being assessed are those that have the potential to harm the consumers of your food and harm your business.

These are categorised into Chemical Physical

Microbiological Allergen

Microbiological hazardsMicrobiological hazards include bacteria, viruses, yeast & mould and

protozoa.

Which is the odd one out? Viruses can only reproduce when being hosted by a living cell. All of the

others are able to reproduce or grow when given the right conditions.

These micro-organisms may be pathogenic (disease causing), cause spoilage or neither of these. We need some types of bacteria present in

our bodies and environment to keep us healthy.

One of the areas that you need to look at when thinking about food safety is the microbiological nature of your product and its ingredients.

This is as well as any cross contamination from anywhere else. These can include people, plant (equipment and building) and product.

To reduce the risk of microbiological hazards, a risk assessment as part of the HACCP or Safer Food Better Business study should be conducted.

The study will need to consider all relevant sources and types of micro-

organism

Pathogenic or Food poisoning bacteria There are many bacteria which can cause disease and are transmitted in

food. These include:

Salmonella species

E.coli (various serotypes)

Campylobacter species

Clostridium botulinum (causes botulism)

Viruses include:

Hepatitis A

Norovirus

Hepatitis E

There are also many parasites and toxins from moulds and bacteria. Some of which are heat resistant.

What do I consider?

When considering the hazards or risks to the production of safe food or drink, the microbiological hazards from all areas must be

considered. Sources of micro-organisms can include raw materials, the environment that the food is produced in and people producing it.

Other considerations are the intended consumer of the products and any vulnerabilities that they may have. For example, the elderly,

children and those with a reduced immune system such as pregnant women and cancer patients.

It is important to have policies in place to reduce these risks to an acceptable level.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations (fao.org) and they have defined a hazard in

HACCP as "A biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect."

What does this have to do with HACCP?

HACCP Physical hazards or foreign materials/bodies are any physical item which is not intended to be included in foodstuff. In some cases these may cause injury if consumed (a hazard). To reduce the risk of

physical hazards, a risk assessment as part of the HACCP study should be conducted

Physical hazards are described as extrinsic – those which are not associated with the product (e.g. glass, plastic) or intrinsic- those which

may be associated with the product (e.g. egg shell, feathers).

Examples of extrinsic items that are physical hazards:

Glass

Metal

String

Fibre

Bristles

Wood

Paper & cardboard

Packaging

Hair

Clothing e.g. fastenings

Cosmetics e.g. false eyelashes, fingernails, nail varnish

Plastic

Physical hazards

Examples of physical hazards that are intrinsic items

Eggshell Bone

Hide (Rind) Feathers Cartilage

Stones in vegetables eg frozen peas

Wood Leaves

Pips/ Fruit stones

Insect Parts Whole Insects

Larvae Eggs

Parts of rodents Droppings

Top tip Have you got your COSHH  (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) documentation and controls in order and are your chemicals locked away?

These are any chemical which is not intended to be included your products. In some cases these may cause injury if consumed (a

hazard). To reduce the risk of chemical hazards, a risk assessment as part of the HACCP or Safer Food Better Business study should be

conducted

Chemical hazards include cleaning chemicals, agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and poisons/toxins from other sources.

To conduct a chemical risk assessment for HACCP, first consider the

types of chemical in your production.

Naturally occurring chemicals. Intentionally added chemicals

Unintentionally added chemicals, as well as those added incidentally.

Chemical Hazards

Naturally occurring chemicals Many naturally occurring chemicals are found in food. Although many

toxins are naturally occurring, they are chemical in origin and fall under the classification of chemical hazards. Examples are the toxins created

when nuts are mouldy (aflatoxins) or some types of fish spoil (histamine). Some shellfish produce chemicals that are toxic to humans but not the

shellfish.

Intentional addition Some chemicals are used in food intentionally, but can be toxic at higher than typical concentrations. These include nitrite used in curing meats

and Vitamin A.

Unintentional addition Unintentionally added chemicals could be cleaning chemicals,

incorrectly used and animal medicines such as antibiotics. There are monitoring programmes in the UK for meat with a large number of

medicines and chemicals such as heavy metals tested for and reported.

Incidental chemicals

Incidental chemicals may include those that have migrated from plastic packaging, or other contact materials.

Cleaning chemicals, maintenance chemicals and agricultural chemicals can all cause injury if not handled correctly.

Pesticides – used at uncontrolled levels can leave residues in food.

Medicines – can be used judiciously, but animals must be withdrawn from any medication for the statutory withdrawal

period. If this does not happen, there may be residues which enter the food chain.

Pesticides – used at uncontrolled levels can leave residues in food.

Heavy metals – Land/ Water resource used which is contaminated by heavy metals can result in the uptake of unacceptable levels in

food e.g. mercury in fish.

PRINCIPLE 1

Conduct a hazard analysis by preparing a list of the steps in the production process and determining the potential and actual hazards and any preventative measures in place. These can include physical,

microbiological and chemical hazards.

PRINCIPLE 2

Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs). This is usually done by using a decision tree, examples on the UN Food website or Food

Standards Agency Resources

PRINCIPLE 3

Establish critical limit(s) for each identified CCP.

PRINCIPLE 4

Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.

PRINCIPLE 5

Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control.

PRINCIPLE 6

Establish procedures for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively.

PRINCIPLE 7

Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.

Codex Alimentarius HACCP PrinciplesThis is the technical way to describe how to perform a HACCP

study.