What are the main changes? The Codex Alimentarius or Food Code is an internationally recognised collection of standards adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. This organisation was established by the FAO and WHO to protect consumer health and fair trade across the world. There have been many changes in the Codex General Principles…
What are Prerequisite Programmes? Prerequisite programmes (PRPs) set the foundation for the “successful application and implementation of the HACCP system”1. They can be applied generally at any step within the food chain from primary production to handling of the final product1. Prerequisites are fundamental practices and procedures that provide “basic environmental and operating conditions”…
What is a CCP? A Critical Control Point (CCP) is an essential step in the process flow where control can be applied to prevent or eliminate a significant hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level1. Too many CCP’s many unnecessarily burden the HACCP plan and not enough could comprise product safety. Only points in…
Why is a Product Description Important? Correct identification and control of hazards requires a thorough understanding of any aspects of the product that could compromise safety. The product can be described individually or products with similar characteristics and processing steps can be grouped together4.A description should cover important aspects such as composition, physical and…
Efficient documentation and record keeping is essential in the application of a HACCP system2. Supporting documentation confirms what information and data was used to establish the scientific and technical basis for the HACCP plan, and records support verification activities. Accurate documentation and records can also assist in a due diligence defence by…
When to Review to the HACCP System The HACCP plan must be continuously reviewed to confirm efficacy of the system since its implementation and can be conducted by competent individuals within a food business or external experts4.A scheduled review must be conducted routinely at prescribed intervals even if nothing has changed2. The recommended minimum should…
What is Validation? Initial validation occurs before the implementation of the HACCP plan. This component of verification collects and evaluates scientific and technical data to support judgements and assumptions behind each part of the HACCP system1. Validation can also apply to a prerequisite programme when the HACCP team determines in the hazard analysis a hazard…
What is a Critical Limit? The HACCP team must establish a critical limit(s) for a selected control measure at each critical control point (CCP) to ensure it is operating as expected. Codex defines a critical limit as “a criterion which separates acceptability from unacceptability”1. A “failure to meet a critical limit” is called a deviation1.…
Purpose and Function Assembling the HACCP team is the first preparatory stage in the development of the HACCP plan. The primary role and functions of the team is the development, implementation and maintenance of an effective HACCP system. Members of the team are recruited from relevant roles and departments within business. This multi-disciplinary approach shares…
Definition and Purpose A monitoring system for each CCP is necessary to demonstrate it is operating within a defined critical limit, which significantly reduces the risk of unsafe product reaching the consumer. Codex describes monitoring as “the act of conducting a planned sequence of observations or measurements of control parameters to assess whether a CCP…