The Answer to Food Safety

In the past, consumers all over the world were at risk of picking up all sorts of food-borne illnesses purely because there was no legitimate and effective food safety management system in place. But that has all changed with the implementation of the HACCP.

Formulated for NASA's astronauts

The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) was formulated in the 1970's in an effort to supply food that was totally safe and untainted by pathogens or bacteria to the men on the outer limits of space - NASA's astronauts.

With the hefty clout of both NASA and the US Army behind it, HACCP quickly developed into the preferred food safety mechanism the world over and, today, virtually every country on the planet prescribes to the principles of this proactive system.

Food safety was traditionally reactive

Food manufacturers, from the farm to the fork, traditionally used to rely on end product testing, snapshot inspections of compliance by the relevant governmental bodies and the simplicity of 'shelf life' to determine food safety.

Once a problem was pinpointed, the industry would react. The food safety process was therefore simply a reactive one that, in effect, was merely closing the stable door once the horse had already bolted...and kicked a number of hapless victims in the head on its way out!

The simple steps of HACCP

Through a process of steps, the HACCP simply

* Identifies all significant hazards associated with a specific food production and looks at effective ways of controlling these risks

* Determines the critical control points (CCP)where these hazards can either be effectively controlled or totally eliminated

* Sets up systems to monitor these CCPs

* Establishes relevant corrective activities, if necessary

* Establishes verification procedures to confirm that the HACCP system is being properly implemented

* Implements a system of record-keeping, including sanitation logs, shipping documentation and supplier agreements so that the entire food process can be followed and scrutinised.

Each industry will have different identifiable hazards, critical control points and effective procedures to deal with its specific hazards. So each industry has its own dedicated food safety system that simply follows the procedures laid out by the HACCP system.

Only HACCP-approved chemicals and industrial cleaning equipment will suffice for this mandatory process, with hot high-pressure cleaners, steam cleaners and other specialist equipment earmarked to do the job.

Thankfully, the consumer can now rest a little easier in the knowledge that the food processing sector is being properly managed and controlled by an effective and proactive food safety management system - in short, the pre-emptive power of HACCP.

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