Safety Controls in the Food Industry

The consequences of food-borne illness can be catastrophic not only for the consumers but also for retailers and other organisations in the supply chain. All organisations in the food chain should apply applicable basic hygienic practices to provide food which is safe and suitable for consumption. In deciding whether a requirement is necessary or appropriate, an assessment of the risk should be made using a HACCP approach to implementing a food safety management system (FSMS).

A fundamental part of achieving safe food is the implementation of a structured FSMS that is incorporated into the overall management activities of the organization. The Food Safety Management System should address quality and legal requirements in addition to food safety hazards. Food business operators are required to think logically about what might go wrong with the food that they sell and what they must do to ensure it is safe for their customers.

Implementing a HACCP based FSMS is essential in achieving food safety. The HACCP system and guidelines were developed Codex Alimentarius Commission and require a logical approach to assessing chemical, physical and biological hazards. Starting from a process flow diagram of the operation food business should assess which hazards need to be controlled at each step of the process. The key steps where control is needed are known as critical control points. Measures to control each hazard and the food safety limits should be established for each critical control point. Records of checks at critical control points should be completed as these will provide a due diligence defence if necessary.

Some organisations use both HACCP and ISO 9001 to form a food quality and food management system. ISO 9001 focuses on consumer satisfaction and one of the most important customer expectations is food safety so this is a logical approach. Applying HACCP within an ISO 9001 quality management system can result in a food safety management system that is more effective than implementing ISO 9001 or HACCP separately. Both HACCP and ISO 9001 provide systems work on the philosophy that prevention is better than cure although correction of problems or deficiencies is required when they occur.

When choosing a standard for their FSMS to be approved against many organisations select ISO 22000 Management Systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain. ISO 22000 is an international standard that combines and supplements the core elements of ISO 9001 and HACCP to provide a framework for the development, implementation and continual improvement of a Food Safety Management System. It has core requirements for Food Management System General Requirements, Documentation Requirements, Management Responsibility, Management Commitment, Safe Food Policy, Planning Communication, Resource Management Infrastructure, Work Environment, Planning and Realization of Safe Products, Prerequisite Programmes, Hazard Analysis, Verification, Planning, Traceability, Control of Nonconformity, Validation, Monitoring and Measuring and Improvement. It would be reasonable to expect some element of these in any food safety management system.

There are many professional Food safety Consulting and SQF Consultants who will help you to get the HACCP Certification. BDFoodsafety.com is the leading SQF consultants recognized by the International HACCP Alliance. Our passion is to help others to produce quality and wholesome food.

Source: Ezine Articles