Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)

HACCP is a science based systematic approach to food safety to provide safe food to customers.

Depending on the product and the processes involved the CCPS differ.

The system requires top management commitment and a dedicated team to plan and implement.

Some preliminary steps required to implement the HACCP principles in the Food Industry are discussed below:

1. Assembling HACCP Team – HACCP Team is a multi skilled Team consisting of Specialist from different fields like microbiologist, chemist, technologists, engineer, product specialist for developing an effective HACCP Plan.

2. Description of the product. – Product has to be described completely. The team should have a complete knowledge of the product.

3. Identifying intended use – Use of the product has to be understood properly –Where how and who will be using the product.

4. Construction of flow diagram – All the stages in the food chain from reception of raw materials, processing, storage and all other operations have to be properly put stepwise on a sheet of a paper.

5. On site confirmation of the flow diagram – HACCP Team shall visit the place where each step of the process is being carried out and confirm the Flow Diagram.

Apart from the above five points GMP and GHP form the foundation for the above preliminary requirements.

Having carried out the preliminary steps let us understand seven HACCP principles.

1. Hazard analysis.

2. Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs)

3. Establish critical limit (s).

4. Monitor the CCP.

5. Establish the corrective actions.

6. Procedure for verification

7. Documentation.

Principle 1 – Hazard Analysis.

Hazard is nothing but an agent in food, which can cause an adverse health effect.
Primarily, there are three basic food hazards, namely biological, physical and chemical.
Relative risk of each hazard is assessed based on the probability of occurrence and its effect on the human health.
In Milk, the biological hazards are bacteria / germs, virus, fungus etc which enter into the milk from the animal, environment, improperly cleaned equipments or if the milk is not stored properly (At refrigerated temperature)
Physical hazards in milk could be dust / dirt, grass, hair or other foreign matter which finds its way in to the milk at village level.
Contaminated water, soap / detergent solution used for cleaning of equipments, other natural contaminants or milk is adulterated intentionally constitutes the chemical hazards.
This exercise is repeated at different steps in the process.

Principle 2 – Determine the critical control points (CCPs)

Having done a preliminary hazard analysis, the next step is to identify critical control points with the help of a series of intelligent questions.
Critical Control Points is defined as a point where control is necessary for food safety.
All significant hazards identified during hazard analysis are addressed
In Mother Dairy, two Critical Control Points have been identified.
One is pasteurization of milk and second is storage of milk (Pasteurization is a process where the milk is heated to a defined temperature and held at that temperature for a defined time and immediately cooled to less than 10°C. Heating is done to destroy all the pathogens, i.e. disease producing micro organisms and most of the non-pathogenic but milk spoiling organisms to make milk safe for human consumption. Cooling is done to stop the growth of the remaining harmless
bacteria.

Principle 3 – Establish critical limit (s).

Once the critical control points are established , limits for preventive measures are determined associated with each identified CCP.
Critical limit is the point, which differentiate between safe and unsafe products.For each CCP, a critical limit is defined. Critical limit should be meaningful and realistic.
At Mother Dairy, HTST (High Temperature Short Time) Pasteurizers is used for pasteurizing the milk. Pasteurization temperature (77 ± 2°C) and time (15 seconds) are specified. For storage of milk, we specify storage temperature(less than 7°C).

Principle 4 – Monitor the CCP.

Monitoring is a planned sequence of observation or measurement to assess whether a CCP is under control.
Rapid Physical and Chemical tests are carried out on the spot and the lengthy microbiological tests are carried out later .
Action plan is made to monitor CCPs. It is specified in the plan what to monitor,how to monitor, who will monitor and when to is monitor.
At Mother Dairy the time and temperature is monitored on Distributed Control System (DCS) continuously. Temperature is set at 77 ± 2°C and is controlled by PID (Proportionally Integrated Derivative) on steam valve and diversion is set at 75°C.

Principle 5 – Establish the corrective actions.

If the critical limit is violated, then corrective action is instituted.
Corrective actions are written procedures to be followed when a deviation occurs.
The actions must ensure that the CCP has been brought under control.
Corrective actions taken must be recorded.
In case of milk processing, the critical control point was milk pasteurization temperature. If temperature drops less than 75°C, milk is automatically diverted to balance tank for reprocessing.
The confirmatory test for pasteurization is phosphates test. If this test is found positive the milk is reprocessed
For the storage of milk, critical control point was the storage temperature. If the temperature during storage is found more than 7°C, which is the specified limit, the milk is further deep chilled using Glycol System during filling into tankers.

Principle 6 – Procedure for verification

Verification is a confirmation process that HACCP Plan is effectively and accurately implemented.
Verification activity includes What, How, When and Who.
Each batch of pasteurized milk is tested for phosphatase test before it is released for filling into tankers for dispatch. Only batches passing the test are taken for filling.
Frequency of verification at Mother Dairy is once a month to conform that the HACCP system is working effectively.
Verification is also done by HACCP Certifying Agency once a year.

Principle 7 – Documentation

Efficient and accurate record keeping is essential to the application of HACCP system.
HACCP procedures should be documented i.e. Hazard Analysis, CCP determination, critical limit etc.
It includes all related processing records, monitoring records and corrective action records, HACCP check list etc.
All the records related to HACCP in Mother Dairy are stored in Computer.

For the benefit of the readers, various steps involved in HACCP systems and the questions to be asked at each step of the operations to determine CCPs are given below