What are the 7 Principles of HACCP?

7 Principles of HACCP

This article explains the 7 Principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The HACCP system is science-based and describes the specific hazards and measures for their control to ensure food safety. HACCP is a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems that concentrate on prevention, rather than end-product testing.

HACCP can be applied throughout the food supply chain. In addition to enhancing food safety, the implementation of HACCP can provide other significant benefits. For example, using HACCP systems can assist with inspection by regulatory authorities and promote commerce by increasing confidence in food safety.

The successful application of HACCP requires the total commitment and engagement of management and the entire workforce. The application of HACCP is consistent with implementing quality management systems, such as the ISO 9000, and is the system of choice in the management of food safety within such systems.

Definitions:

Control (verb): To take all necessary actions to ensure and maintain compliance with criteria established in the HACCP plan.

Control (noun): The state wherein correct procedures are being followed and their criteria are met.

Control measure: Any action or activity that can be used to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Corrective action: Any action to be taken when the results of monitoring at the CCP indicate a loss of control.

Critical Control Point (CCP): A step at which control can be applied is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Critical limit: A criterion that separates acceptability from unacceptability.

Deviation: Failure to meet a critical limit.

Flow diagram: A systematic representation of the sequence of steps and/or operations used to produce or manufacture a particular food item.

HACCP: A system designed to identify, evaluate and control food safety hazards.

HACCP plan: A document prepared under the principles of HACCP to ensure the control of food safety hazards in the food chain segment under consideration.

Hazard: Any agent - biological, chemical or physical - or condition with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.

Hazard analysis: The process of collecting and evaluating information on potential hazards and conditions related to a food process to decide which are significant in terms of food safety and therefore should be addressed in the HACCP plan.

Monitor: The act of conducting a planned sequence of observations or measurements of control parameters to assess whether a CCP is under control.

Step: A point, procedure, operation, or stage in the food chain - including raw materials - from primary production to final consumption.

Validation: Obtaining evidence to verify that the elements of the HACCP plan are practical and effective.

Verification: The application of methods, procedures, tests and other evaluations, in addition to monitoring to determine compliance with the HACCP plan.

 

Principles of HACCP

The HACCP system consists of the following seven principles:

Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis.

Principle 2: Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs).

Principle 3: Establish critical limit(s).

Principle 4: Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.

Principle 5: Establish corrective actions when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control.

Principle 6: Establish verification procedures to confirm the HACCP system is working effectively.

Principle 7: Establish documentation procedures and a record-keeping system for each application. 

 

Guidelines for the application of the HACCP system:

• Before any food chain sector considers implementing HACCP principles, they should first ensure they are following Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene and the appropriate Codex Codes of Practice as well as any food safety requirement and legislation by their government agencies with jurisdiction.
• Management commitment is essential for the implementation of an effective HACCP system.
• During hazard identification, evaluation and subsequent operations in designing and applying HACCP systems, consideration must be given to the potential impact of raw materials, ingredients, food manufacturing practices, the role of manufacturing processes to control hazards, likely end-use of the product, categories of consumers of concern and epidemiological evidence relative to food safety.
• The HACCP system must focus on control at CCPs. 
• A process redesign should be considered if a hazard that must be controlled is identified in a process step, but no CCPs are found.
• HACCP should be applied to each specific operation separately. CCPs identified in an example given by the Codex Code of Hygienic Practice  are not to be considered comprehensive for all applications, and environments.
• The HACCP application should be thoroughly reviewed and necessary changes made when any modification is made in the product, process or step.
• It is crucial when applying HACCP to be flexible where appropriate, giving consideration to the context of the application, taking into account the nature and the size of the operation.

Application

The application of HACCP principles consists of the following tasks as identified in the Logic Sequence for Application of HACCP (Diagram 1).

1. Assemble the HACCP team. The food operation should ensure that appropriate product-specific knowledge and expertise are available to develop an effective HACCP plan. This may be accomplished by assembling a multidisciplinary team. Where such expertise is not available on-site, assistance should be obtained from outside experts and resources. The scope of the HACCP plan should be clearly defined, describing which segments of the food chain are involved and the general classes of hazards to be addressed. 

2. Describe a product. A full description of the product should be drawn up, including relevant safety information such as composition, physical/chemical structure (including Aw, pH, etc.), microbicidal/static treatments (heat-treatment, freezing, brining, smoking, etc.), packaging, durability and storage conditions as well as method of distribution.

3. Identify the intended use. The intended use should be based on the product’s intended end-user / consumer and special consideration should be given when those identified include vulnerable groups of the general population including end-users who are immuno-compromised, infants, the elderly, etc. 

4. Construct flow diagram. The HACCP team should construct a flow diagram and must cover all steps involved in the operation. When applying HACCP to a given procedure, consideration should also be given to any actions preceding and following the specified process.

5. On-site confirmation of flow diagram. The HACCP team should verify the process operation against the flow diagram, step by step and modify the flow diagram when applicable.

6. List all potential hazards associated with each step, conduct a hazard analysis and consider any measures to control identified hazards. The HACCP team should list all of the hazards that could be reasonably expected to occur at each step from primary production, processing, manufacture and distribution until the point of consumption.

Creating a comprehensive and effective HACCP plan requires the HACCP team to conduct a hazard analysis, identifying potential hazards that are required to be controlled or completely eliminated for safe food production.

In conducting the hazard analysis - wherever possible - consider the following:

• The likely occurrence of hazards and severity of their adverse health effects.
• The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the presence of hazards.
• Survival or multiplication of microorganisms of concern.
• Production or persistence of toxins, chemicals or physical agents in foods; and
• Conditions leading to the above.
• The HACCP team must then discuss which available control measures could be applied to mitigate each hazard identified.

 More than one control measure may be required to control a specific hazard(s) and a specified control measure may control more than one hazard.

7. Determine Critical Control Points. There may be more than one CCP where control is applied to address the same hazard. The determination of a CCP in the HACCP system can be facilitated by using a decision tree, which indicates a logical sequence approach. The application of a decision tree should be flexible, taking into consideration whether the operation in question is related to production, slaughter, processing, storage, distribution or some other process stage. The decision tree should be used for guidance when determining CCPs and may not apply to all situations. Different approaches may be used and training in the application of the decision tree is recommended.

Suppose a hazard has been identified where control is necessary for food safety yet no applicable control measure exists at any step in the associated process. In that case, the product or process should be modified to include a control measure, at that step or at any earlier / later stage.

8. Establish critical limits for each CCP. Critical limits must be specified and validated if possible for each Critical Control Point. More than one critical limit will be elaborated at a certain step in some cases. Criteria often used include temperature, time, moisture level, pH, Aw, available chlorine and sensory parameters such as visual appearance and texture.

9. Establish a monitoring system for each CCP. Monitoring is the scheduled measurement or observation of a CCP relative to its critical limits. The monitoring procedures must detect loss of control at the CCP. Moreover - under ideal circumstances - monitoring should be able to provide the information in real time, allowing for adjustments to be made to ensure control of the process and prevent violating the critical limits. Where possible, process adjustments should be made when monitoring results indicate a trend moving towards losing control at a CCP.

The adjustments should be taken before a deviation occurs. Data derived from monitoring must be evaluated by a designated person with knowledge and authority to carry out corrective actions when indicated. If monitoring is not continuous, then the amount or frequency of monitoring must be sufficient to ensure that the CCP remains in control. Most monitoring procedures for CCPs will need to be done in real time as much as possible relating to online processes as there simply will not be sufficient time for any lengthy analytical testing.

Physical and chemical measurements are often preferred over microbiological testing because they may be done rapidly and can usually indicate the microbial control of the product. All records and documents associated with monitoring CCPs must be signed by the person(s) performing the monitoring and by the company official(s), responsible for reviewing the measurement results.

10. Establish corrective actions. Specific corrective actions must be developed for each CCP in the HACCP system to deal with deviations when they occur.

The actions taken must ensure that the CCP has been brought under control. Actions taken must also include proper disposition of the affected product. Deviation and product disposition procedures must be documented in the HACCP record keeping system.

11. Establish verification procedures. Establish procedures for verification. Verification and auditing methods, techniques and tests including random sampling and analysis can all be used to determine if the HACCP system is working correctly. The frequency of verification should be sufficient to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively. Some examples of verification activities include:

• Review of the HACCP system and its records;
• Review of deviations and product dispositions;
• Confirmation that CCPs are kept under control.
• Whenever possible, validation activities should include actions to confirm the efficacy of all elements of the HACCP plan.

12. Establish Documentation and Record-Keeping. Efficient and accurate record-keeping is essential to the application of an effective HACCP system and therefore, HACCP procedures should be documented. Documentation and record-keeping should be appropriate to the nature and size of the operation.

 Documentation examples are:

• Hazard analysis
• CCP determination
• Critical limit determination.

Record examples are:

• CCP monitoring activities;
• Deviations and associated corrective actions;
• Modifications to the HACCP system.

Julio Cesar Ortega 

“Engineer with experience in safety systems such as HACCP, FSCC 22000, also Writer of food safety plans for food production facilities and restaurants, and additionally I have worked in the implementation of safety systems in companies engaged in the export of food products.”