HACCP standard is the short form of “Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point”. For the first time, HACCP was developed as a microbiological safety system for the astronauts’ foods to minimize the food hazards and increase safety then it was used in food industries for all foods. Of course, it is not possible to reach 100% food safety by HACCP standard but it is a very good system to maximize the food safety of the end product for the customers.
HACCP identified, evaluates, and control the hazards in food systems. HACCP is the structured system for food safety and is made of three Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Hygiene Practice (GHP), and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and Good Storage Practice (GSP) standards. HACCP is the management system that analyzes and controls the chemical, biological, and physical hazard from the beginning of the process to the end products which starts from the entrance of raw materials to the food factory to procurement, handling, manufacturing, processing, producing, and selling the final product.
Why it is important to have HACCP standard certificate?
Since many diseases are caused by food-borne pathogens and there are always food safety concerns in the food industry both for customers and producers, a comprehensive management system is essential to identify, evaluate, ad control the hazards. In addition, the HACCP certificate provides a high chance of competing in the international market for the food producers and a good assurance for customers to buy food products conveniently.
The principles of HACCP standard
Hazards analysis
In this step, the process should be evaluated to find the biological (bacteria, viruses, foodborne pathogens, etc.), chemical (chemical contaminants, toxins, etc.), and physical hazards (metal contamination). The points that these contaminations occur should be detected in the hazard analysis step. Hazard is detected in two steps of identification and evaluation. Evaluation is to check the risk degree of the identified hazard.
Critical Control Points (CCP)
The second step after the identification and evaluation of hazards is identifying the critical control point. Hazards must be controlled in these points by the specific preventive measures of each point. These measures are temperature, pH, time, salt and chlorine level, and procedures. If these critical points go farther than the permitted range, corrective actions should be taken.
Temperature range
Temperature is one of the important CCPs and the minimum and maximum temperature should be identified for each process.
Critical Limits
The maximum and minimum of each critical point should be determined in each process such as the temperature that was explained previously.
Monitoring
After indicating the CCPs and their limits, all the processes should be monitored and recorded to meet the critical limits. If the CCPs go far beyond the limits, corrective actions are needed to modify the processes by permanent monitoring. Monitoring includes the physical measurements and observations in specific and regular times.
Correction
Corrective actions occur when a problem is detected in the monitoring step and before releasing the end product which forces the process to go to the CCP and correct the occurred problems out of the indicated limits. The correction includes two objectives of correcting the problem which was happened for lack of control and preventing the cause of this problem.
Record keeping procedure
The recording is an important part of HACCP to register all the occurred problems in the production line, the causes of problems, and the repetition of problems in CCP from development to operation steps of the system.
Verification procedures
Verification is the last step in HACCP to validate the processes to be implemented effectively, the hazards are identified correctly, the correction is done timely, and monitor effectively.
Foodlord Company obliges itself to follow all the HACCP requirements in producing dried fruit, dried vegetables, and nuts.
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