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Food Safety: HACCP - What is it? Why did NASA invent it?
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points or HACCP is a preventive approach to food safety that aims to prevent hazardous effects to consumers by identifying potential food safety hazards in all food industries and applying certain actions known as Critical Control Points to reduce and eliminate threats to the health of consumers.
This system was invented and implemented successfully in the US for NASA by a company called Pillsbury in 1960. At that time Pillsbury was asked to manufacture the foods for NASA's space flights and needed to ensure the health of the astronauts by preventing illnesses caused by foods. The system was subsequently adopted by the FDA in America.
Like all good things the HACCP has found practical use - in the food industry. In today's restaurants and kitchens we need to be aware of the continual hazards that food is subjected to. These can include biological, physical or chemical hazards. Biological hazards include organisms such as viruses, bacteria or parasites. Physical hazards include foreign objects like pieces of glass or plastic in food materials. Chemical hazards deal with chemicals added to food, even including such things as too much of an ingredient added to food that can make someone sick.
According to the HACCP guidelines, restaurants should perform hazard analysis (the "HA") in the storage, preparation, cooking, and packaging of foods to highlight and detect possible food hazards and distinguish the critical control points (the "CCP") where appropriate prevention and control techniques may be employed to ensure the safety of foods.
After establishing HA (hazard analysis) and CCP (critical control points), restaurants should also set criterion for critical limits. These are the hazard limitations which should be met for each critical control point. Some limitations may follow regulations set by governing food bodies in the local area.
CCP monitoring requirements are then put in place to ensure that each critical control point stays within its predefined limits. If critical control point limits are exceeded, corrective action must be taken; this corrective action must be established so that no public health hazard occurs as a result of this.
To ensure that the system is working effectively procedures need to be carefully monitored, documented and updated. Checks need to be made to ensure that microbial levels are appropriate and that all staff are aware of the correct procedures.
Specific and explicit records must be kept to make sure that the HACCP is functioning properly at all times. These records keep track of monitoring, verification and any limits exceeded in CCP on an ongoing basis.
Food safety is an important issue. HACCP is a system that ensures that restaurants are using proper sanitation, storage, refrigeration, and food handling procedures. As a result of this the chances of food contamination occurring are substantially reduced.
A HACCP certification is recognised by those in the food industry. A restaurant with a HACCP certification is a restaurant that has tangible proof that it is doing all it can to ensure that the food it serves is safe. Consumers at such restaurants can rest assured that their food is as safe as possible and they can relax and really enjoy their meal.
About the Author About the author: Malcolm J. Richmond shares expert advice on food hygiene on his website where you can learn more details of HACCP and other methods of tackling the food safety issue.
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