About HACCP

Reports of food poisoning incidents (e.g. E-coli bacteria poisoning of 900 school children in Japan, 1996) attract more than just public interest. At the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has turned its attention to the subject of food safety and health. 150 nations together making up 97% of the world population have ratified this section of the world health programme. The aim is for a detailed plan to make food production safe to be implemented worldwide by the year 2020.

One organization that works closely with the WHO is the Codex Alimentarius Committee. This body’s role is to gather information, hold talks and reach agreement with representatives of world associations, producers, authorities, etc. Major economic associations such as the European Union, NAFTA and EFTA are in constant contact with the Codex Committee so that results can be set down as directives. One such directive is EU Directive 93/43/EU, known as “HACCP”.

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points

The HACCP system is designed to prevent mistakes occurring; it was developed for the NASA space exploration project. The question in the 60s was how to ensure that astronauts do not carry any bad

foodstuffs that could cause a mission to fail. The HACCP system is now being translated into national guidelines by many countries.

The HACCP system has five main principles:

1. Risk analysis of the company’s general situation

2. Identification of risks to food at all stages in the process

3. Determination and documentation of critical points

4. Establishing testing and monitoring measures

5. Periodical control of the measures and adapting the system to changes

At present, the HACCP system covers production, storage, distribution and serving to the consumer. The Codex Alimentarius Committee has taken this a stage further and claims the objective is safe food from production right through to the consumer “from farm to fork”.

Because HACCP and ISO 9000 are not mutually exclusive but on the contrary complement each other perfectly, a joint concept is implemented in the USA called HACCP 9000.

HACCP for SMEs There are considerable debates over whether HACCP can be effectively used by small and medium enterprises that may not have the necessary skill base to implement and maintain a HACCP plan. There is very little motivation for SMEs to adopt HACCP as it is usually harder to identify the benefits of improvements but easier to identify the costs. Whilst the resistance of SMEs to implement HACCP is understandable, the benefits of having a working HACCP system would potentially outweigh the cost of implementing and maintaining such a system. • Traceability • Guarantee of quality • Reduce barriers to international trade Multiplication of bacteria depends on temperature Bacteria, fungi and microorganisms generally are useful helpers on the one hand (for instance yeast used in bread making, bacteria which make sour milk, acetic acid bacteria which produce alcohol by fermentation etc.) On the other hand , they can cause diseases (salmonella, E-coli, hyphomycetes, etc.) The bacteria do so by using the same “food source” as us: our foodstuffs. Bacteria multiply quickly, 100 bacteria at time 0 become 200 after 20 minutes, 400 after 40 minutes, 800 after 1 hour, 1600 after 1 hour 20 minutes and so on. However, microorganisms can only multiply within a specific range of temperature. Above or below that range, multiplication cannot take place. At cool temperatures (<7°C), bacterial growth slows down. Division occurs at considerably longer intervals. At very cold temperatures (-18°C), the microorganisms can no longer divide. Bacterial growth comes to a halt. But this does not mean the germs are dead; they are simply “sleeping”. At temperature above 40°C, bacterial; growth is also restricted, at temperature above 65°C - 70°C, certain kinds of germ start to die. Above 125°C microorganisms have no further chance of survival. This is therefore the temperature range used for sterilizing. Conditions for germ growth Besides temperature, the acid level, water level, nutrient level and structure of the food stuff also play an important part in multiplication. One or more parameters from the list below can be used to make foodstuffs keep longer. These are exactly the steps followed in natural processing, which we have been doing for centuries. To make jam, we use the natural fruit acids in the fruit in conjunction with the process of “dehydration” by adding plenty of sugar. Dried meat (dry-cured beef, Parma ham, etc) is salted on the one hand and air-dried on the other to reduce the water content. Meat in large pieces (joints, not divided up) are often protected by connective tissue to make the surface that germs can attack smaller. Mince, on the other hand, is chopped up so small that bacteria have a hugh area to attack. For that reason, minced meat should be consumed on the same day it minced. It is extremely important to keep meat products cool. Measured variables in the food industry The three most important measured variables for food monitoring are time, temperature and relative humidity. In the case of almost all products, the Use By Date indicates by the Best Before Date (BBD) and in some cases time. Goods sold loose do not carry a date; the length of time they can be kept depends on their condition. The Best Before Date is principally relevant to warehousing and stock turnover. Computer-assisted stock control and regular inventory-taking couple with correct stock rotation (first in, first out principle) ensure products that will keep well. Temperature, on the other hand, is the most important measured variable. Frozen food and cold shelves are already covered by legal requirements or limits. But even the storage instructions that appear on many packs “store in a cool, dry place” sometimes have to be monitored. Temperature is still responsible for many instances of food going off and impaired quality and correct storage of foodstuffs for long periods is therefore obviously essential. Relative humidity is rarely indicated in exact terms and often is not given its due prominence. The storage instructions quoted above do not mention any measured value that should adhered to. This is where specialist knowledge on the part of the distributor comes into play in determining the conditions to be fulfilled within the limits of the technically possible and depending on the packaging used. testo - Your partner in HACCP Testo offers a wide range of measuring instruments for the food industry. They fulfill industrial requirements of ISO, FDA, GMP and HACCP with calibration certificates recognized by international standards. And with the dynamic relations of Testo with national food authority worldwide, testo instruments are always featured the current trends and most updated measuring technology. Testo offers digital thermometers which are highly accurate and robust in everyday use. The compact thermometer consists of the display and the probe. Solutions are readily for different measuring circumstances, for example: • Sharp and robust penetration probes for solid food/packages; • 2mm thin penetration probe for invisible holes in burgers or fish; • Surface probes featured for hot plates in fast-food restaurants; • High-temperature immersion probes for hot oils used in deep frying; • Oven and waterproof probes for extreme conditions; • Corkscrew probe for core temperature in frozen meat; • Infrared thermometers for incoming goods check without damaging the packages; • Data loggers to measure, print, document and save measured data for auditing purposes; • User-friendly software for data-management and documentation necessary. • Other parameters available such as relative humidity, water activity, pH, cooking oil quality. Visit www.testo.com and contact us now to receive a FREE food instruments catalogue for your HACCP/ quality control system.