Food and Beverage manufacturers incorporate a Food Safety Management system called HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) which is designed to improve the food safety across all steps of food from farm to fork which in turns provide the Food and Beverage Manufacturers the consumer’s trust on their brand.
This article provides a comprehensive guide for Implementation of HACCP for Food and Beverage Manufacturer.
What is HACCP?
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) came into existence in 1960 as a world’s pioneer approach for evaluating and controlling food safety but later because of characteristics it became an integral part of the food processing operations.
| The FDA defines HACCP as: ‘’A food safety management system in which food safety is ensured by identification and control of hazards (physical, chemical and biological) from food production, processing, storage, transportation, distribution and consumption of the finished product’’ |
HACCP systems are implemented worldwide by the food and Beverage industries. The main agenda behind implementation of HACCP lies in the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards to produce a safe, nutritious and wholesome food for the consumers
Following are the main seven principles of HACCP, that can be followed to implement the HACCP system in any Food and Beverage industry.
Implementation of HACCP Plan for Food and Beverage Manufacturer’s
Each process or product has its own HACCP plan, which identifies potential hazards and the controls in place to guarantee that they are removed or regulated to ensure appropriate levels in the food product. Unfortunately, not every organization can benefit from the same HACCP template.
Your HACCP plan should cover your company’s specific hazards and control points. As a result, creating a HACCP Plan strategy from the start may appear to be a tough process. The answer, as always, is to surround oneself with the proper people.
Following are the steps for establishing a proper HACCP Plan for any food and beverage industry.
1. Build a HACCP Team
Bringing together a diverse team is the first stage in developing a HACCP strategy. Engineers, production managers, hygiene and safety specialists, microbiologists, and a quality assurance specialist will be among those involved. On possible biological, chemical, and physical concerns, you may need to consult with other specialists.
2. Describe the Product
Describe your product or service once you’ve assembled your team and chosen your contractors. What type of cuisine will you offer, what ingredients will you utilize, and how will it be prepared? Because of the temperature that the food must be maintained at, you must also determine how to distribute your product (frozen, refrigerated, or at room temperature).
3. Specify the Intended Use of Product
When developing a HACCP strategy, you must consider both your product and your target audience. Children, the elderly, and persons with dietary allergies all require unique considerations, which should be addressed in the plan.
4. Build the Flowchart
All of the processes in the HACCP process should be explained clearly and simply in the flowchart. Each recipe at a restaurant, for example, should have its flowchart. It should include not just internal process specifics, but also supplier information and distribution best practices.
5. Confirm the Flow Diagram on Site
The HACCP team should inspect the flow diagram on-site to ensure that it is accurate. When the HACCP plan is incomplete, it’s critical to prepare the necessary adjustments, as well as modify and enhance the strategy.
Principles of HACCP
After the completion of the first 5 preliminary steps of HACCP Plan, there are seven principles of HACCP that are considered as the core steps for implementing HACCP in food firms.
- Identification of Hazard
The first principle of HACCP in implementing a HACCP in Food & Beverage industries is the “Identification of Hazards”. The term “Hazard” can be defined as “Any thing which has potential to cause danger”. Hazards usually classified into three types
- Physical Hazard: These include presence of stones, nuts, bolts, dirt or foreign objects etc. presence into the food.
- Chemical Hazard: These include presence of pesticide residues, additives, cleaning chemicals or sanitizer presence into the food.
- Biological Hazard: Presence of microbes, fungus or insects and pests are included in the biological hazards.
First principles of HACCP include listing of all these hazards that could be the source of sickness for a consumer upon consumption of food or any other misfortune while working in the food vicinity.
Some of the main food processing steps where hazards analysis should perform in any food and beverage industry include
· Raw Material and Finished Product Storage
· Time and Temperature Specifications
· Worker’s Personal Hygiene
· Transportation of the Product
These processing steps as well as some food commodity specific steps should be considered for the “Hazard Identification” to ensure the reliable and transparent HACCP system for any food industries.
- Determine Critical Control Points (CCP)
The next principle of HACCP is the determination of critical control points. A critical control point (ccp) is defined as “the points where control must be applied to ensure food safety at the further stages”. These critical control points are usually determined with the help of specific decision trees in food facilities.
Determination of all CCP’s help food manufacturers to focus on these points and implement extra checks to ensure food safety at all further stages.
Some common critical control points in food industries includes
· Cooking Time and Temperature
· Storage Time and Temperature
· Raw Material Composition
· Food Processing Steps
- Determine Critical Limits (CL)
For all determined critical control points, a critical limit is set for all of them. Critical Limit (CL) can be defined as “the limit that separates acceptance and rejection of the product”.
The main advantage of these limits is that a range is defined (maximum or minimum limit) for each CCP and once the range is exceeded above the defined levels, the action plan can be implemented accordingly. In this way, a smooth functioning of all the food processing operations is carried out in food and beverage industries.
A common example of critical control point and critical limit is provided in the table:
| Critical Control Point | Critical Limit |
| Cooking Time | 5-10 min |
| Cooking Temperature | 165°F to 175°F |
| Food Ph | 6-6.5 |
| Cereal Grain Composition | 12-13% Moisture Content |
- Monitoring of Critical Control Point (CCP)
In this principle of HACCP, a critical control point is monitored by developing suitable inspection procedures to check whether the critical limit is under control or not.
Monitoring procedures of each critical control point includes
· SOP for monitoring CCP
· Inspection frequency
· Inspection tool
· Inspection Responsibility
The effective monitoring procedures result in the robust HACCP management system for food and beverage manufacturers.
- Establish Corrective Actions
HACCP Plan for food manufacturers establishes documented corrective actions in case the results of critical control point monitoring indicates that critical limit is breached.
The main advantage of this principle is that predefined corrective actions help in the control of any possible hazards which in turn fulfills food and beverage manufacturer’s ultimate goal of food safety.
| Critical Control Point (CCP) | Critical Limit (CL) | Monitoring of CCP | Corrective Actions |
| Cooking Temperature | 165°F to 175°F | 145°F | Continue heating until temperature attain the defined range |
| Cereal Grain Composition (Moisture content) | 12-13% Moisture Content | 20% | Lot discarded |
- Establish Verification Procedures
Documented Verification procedures are another important principle of HACCP to ensure the smooth and continuous working of all the food processing steps.
Verification procedures usually include:
· Conducting regular audits
· Calibration of equipments
· Management review meetings
· Third party inspections
- Record Keeping and Documentation
In HACCP, Record Keeping and Documentation play a crucial role. Food manufactures implementing HACCP need to maintain records from food manufacturing to the food retail.
Record keeping and documentation may vary from industry to industry but it may include:
· Raw Material lists
· Risk Assessments
· Critical control points and critical limits of the food items
· Employees hygiene records
· Traceability Records
In food processing facilities, all this information is recorded in a controlled format and a master list of documentation is maintained efficiently for the record keeping system.
Implementing all these steps in any Food and beverage industry results in ensuring food safety as well as improving the overall efficiency of food processing operations.
Benefits of Implementing HACCP for Food and Beverage Manufacturer’s
Implementing HACCP in your food and beverage Industry provide numerous benefits in addition to just food safety which ultimately linked with improved the business growth of food and beverage manufacturers. Following are some of the benefits:
1. Improve Production Efficiency:
HACCP identifies the potential hazards associated with all processing steps in food industries. By controlling these hazards, food manufacturers can improve their overall production efficiency by reducing production delays and product recalls. These measures will save the extra cost of food manufacturers and that can surely boost the profit margin of food and beverage manufacturers.
2. Access to Domestic and International Markets:
Implementing HACCP in your food industry increases the food manufacturer’s product access to domestic and international markets because nowadays all developed countries demand HACCP certification for food products in order to import and export the food items. Additionally, domestic sale of HACCP certified food items increases because of consumer trust on HACCP certified items.
3. Research and Development:
Implementing HACCP in food industries provide the research and development benefits to companies because all processing steps are constantly evaluated on defined intervals that can help the companies to improve their existing processes and develop new products.
4. Compliance with National and International Regulations:
The HACCP system is accepted worldwide and by implementing HACCP in any food industry, manufacturers can provide compliance with all the national and international regulations which will save them from any extra fine and legal procedures. This compliance will also help them in approval of new products from the respective regulatory agencies.