HACCP concept

The HACCP concept is a control system for the quality assurance of all production processes that deal with food. EU Regulation No. 852/2004 sets out the seven steps for creating an HACCP concept. The “Codex Alimentarius” contains the instructions for drawing up the HACCP plan.

In order to identify critical control points in food production, the HACCP team takes a close look at this process. Relevant safety information, the intended use of the products and a flow chart showing the individual process steps from the raw material to the finished product are prepared for the HACCP concept. Based on the individual process steps, components and processing steps can be identified which represent potential risks to the health of the product. These risks are included in the hazard analysis. A risk matrix or decision tree is recommended for evaluating the risks in order to be able to assess the hazards correctly. Measures to contain the identified hazards are also agreed.

Summarized principles of the HACCP concept are laid down in the “Codex Alimentarius”, which explains in short form the way to a structured HACCP plan.

The seven principles of the HACCP concept

1. Hazard analysis and risk assessment are the basic prerequisites for implementing the HACCP concept
2. “Critical control points are identified and described. They represent improper actions that can cause health hazards. They must be avoided or reduced to a non-hazardous level.
3. Limit values are set for critical control points. If these are exceeded, there is a risk to the health of the food.
4. Corrective actions for monitoring are defined for each CCP, “Critical Control Points”. Corrective actions are applied if a CCP can no longer be controlled.
5. A system for monitoring the HACCP process must be established. The CCPs are recorded and documented by the software.
6. The corrective actions still need to be verified in order to prevent food hazards. A procedure must be defined as verification that the HACCP concept is working effectively.
7. The scope of the documentation must be appropriate to the operation. The documentation must ensure that all processes, measures and corrections comply with the HACCP principles.

Digitalized HACCP

The HACCP plan is a guarantee of compliance with legal regulations in order to meet health standards in food production. From the perspective of food distributors, the documents and records of the processes are associated with a relatively high level of effort.

A digitalized concept offers a practical implementation of the legal requirements when implementing the HACCP plan. The regular HACCP inspections can be carried out much faster and with fewer resources by digitizing the processes. Documentation in the form of HACCP PDF protocols would reduce the flood of paper and optimize the inspection processes.

 

Further useful information

How Testify supports you in quality assurance in the food industry.