The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program – a food safety management system for identifying hazards and steps in processes at which hazards must be controlled – was developed in 1959 by the Pillsbury Company to ensure the safety of foods for astronauts. The principles were not introduced for wider application until 1971.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first adopted the concept for low-acid canned food in 1973; but, it was 22 years before the FDA issued HACCP regulations for fish products. The next year, 1996, the U.S. Department of Agriculture mandated HACCP for meat and poultry. Now HACCP systems are required of even more processors and are being implemented internationally.
What is this program? Once good manufacturing practices are in place, a HACCP plan is developed based on seven principles:
- Identify the significant hazards – physical, chemical, and biological – and decide which are essential to control based upon likely occurrence and severity.
- Identify points in the process where action can be taken to prevent, eliminate, or reduce hazards that must be controlled.
- Establish the conditions necessary to control the hazard at each critical control point, such as heating or cooling requirements.
- Establish monitoring procedures, procedures for adjusting the process to prevent loss of control, and procedures to document that control has been maintained.
- Establish corrective actions to be taken if loss of control occurs – to prevent unsafe food from reaching consumers, avoid future occurrences, and document corrective actions.
- Establish procedures to verify that the HACCP plan is working. There should be scientific evidence that critical control points are effective and the producer or processor is doing what they say they are doing.
- Establish record keeping procedures. Records are essential for verification and to provide a history of performance.
“HACCPs provide a common understanding so that government, producers, processors, retailers, and consumers know what is expected,” explains Merle Pierson, professor of food science and technology.