The foodservice industry faces a variety of challenges that can affect the overall operations of their organizations. To maintain their competitive edge, managers are always looking for better strategies to run a hotel, bakery, coffee shop, or restaurant.

From conceptualizing the right menu, addressing staffing concerns, improving customer engagement and marketing, and increasing cash flows to sustain business operations, business owners will find themselves adjusting from time to time to stay afloat.

One important aspect that both owners and managers need to fully understand is the international standard on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), which focuses on reducing the risk of food safety hazards.

Identification and control of potential hazards are important steps in a HAACP system and may include the following hazards: physical, biological, or chemical.

Businesses engaged in the food production industry and whose operations involve manufacturing, processing, or handling may use HAACP to eliminate the potential for contamination of food products.

The heart of HAACP lies in its seven basic principles.

1. Implementation of a Hazard Analysis

Companies need to start evaluating their activities and identify areas prone to hazards. As noted, hazards can exist in physical conditions (such as metal contamination), biological conditions (such as exposure to viral or bacterial products), or chemical conditions (such as potential product exposure to toxins at various stages of development).

Hiring an outside expert who can help food production organizations arrive at an objective hazard assessment will be helpful. It would be ideal if there was an internal team that could handle this; otherwise, using an external service provider will save the company precious time to identify and assess hazards. After which comes the identification of critical control points.

2. Identification of Critical Control Points (CCP)

This stage refers to steps that must be taken to control the hazard or an assessment of whether the hazard poses an immediate risk to the end user. Additionally, this step will involve the deployment of minimum or maximum limits for processing traits (ie pH, chlorine levels, salt, temperature), level, time, etc.) to contain the hazard. Said CCP limit will determine the subsequent steps to implement, with the ultimate goal of controlling the impact on the product.

3. Establishment of Critical Limits

Setting benchmarks for each CCP should be the next stage. It is necessary to identify and establish parameters, including the minimum temperature and other factors. The team must also be aware of the limits set by the regulatory authorities covering the control point.

4. Establishment of Control Plans

Processes should be measured at the CCP and properly recorded to establish that critical controls have been established. Decision makers should ask whether continuous monitoring of the CCP is required or what measures need to be put in place to achieve a level of confidence that everything is being monitored. Such monitoring will determine the success of the HAACP system and can be done through physical quantification or observations, which will guide the decision-making process when things go wrong.

5. Establishment of Corrective Steps

Steps must be established in advance in anticipation of breaching the critical limit. The goal is to ensure that the probability of releasing an unsafe product is eliminated. An evaluation of the process will allow establishing the main origin of the problem and its subsequent elimination. The approach is two-pronged: control of products that failed to monitor and eliminate the nonconformity and prevention of a repeat occurrence.

6. Establishment of Verification Plans

Validating the HAACP plan is the focus of this step. This will also involve checking whether the system is being implemented according to the agreed plan, such as calibrating instruments and performing CCP audits, product testing and pre-shipment reviews. Also, these activities will exclude tracking.

7. Establishment of Reporting and Certification Plans

The recording of information to establish that a safe product is actually produced is an instrumental element of the HAACP system. Record details include the HAACP plan itself, the personnel behind the plan, hazard assessments, flow charts, monitoring plan, critical limits, actions taken, procedures, and verification steps.