Good enough to eat?
October 1st 2005 Strict new food hygiene laws come into force next year that will affect all food businesses.
Harriet Simmons of the National Britannia Group’s food certification division explains the new regulations
It will be a case of one giant leap for some food manufacturers from January 2006, when a safety programme originally developed by NASA becomes a legal EU requirement for all food businesses.
The HACCP system, which was originally designed to ensure food for astronauts was safely prepared and packaged, underpins the new food hygiene laws.
In simple terms the system – short for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points - means that all links in the food production chain must understand the hazards that can affect the safety status of their product and manage each step in the process to control such hazards.
In other words, producers need to understand how, why and where food could get contaminated and then manage their processes to prevent contamination occurring.
While manufacturers are already required to produce food that is safe for human consumption, the new regulations mean that they must be able to demonstrate what they do to make food safe – and have this written down.
The first step for food manufacturers developing a HACCP system is to decide who should be involved in setting up the program. Under the new regulations, it is the responsibility of the proprietor of the business to ensure that food safety requirements are met, although all staff need to be adequately trained to understand the implication of their tasks in the context of food safety and legality.The next stage is to carefully identify each step in the preparation of each product, starting with the purchase and receipt of the ingredients and ending with sale to the customer, and to formulate these steps into a flow chart.
Each step should be carefully analysed to identify what could possibly go wrong to result in a safety hazard to the customer. Food safety hazards - those things which will cause injury or illness if not removed from the food before consumption – include bacteria, foreign bodies and chemical contaminants. Identifying what can be done to control potential hazards is the next step. Controls may include separation of raw and cooked foods to avoid cross-contamination, adherence to personal hygiene rules to avoid contamination by bacteria and correct cooking to avoid survival of bacteria.
The establishment will need to consider whether or not the customer will be harmed if nothing is done at each step where potential hazards have been identifed. The next stage is to set standards, or critical limits, for the controls. These specify the conditions which must be met to ensure that the food will be safe. For example, storing a product within target temperature limits is a standard that can be checked and appropriate steps taken where the target temperatures are not met. Checks need to be carried out at pre-determined times and records kept to show that the controls are working.
If monitoring shows that critical limits are not being met a designated person will then be expected to undertake - and record - corrective action.
Whenever there is a recipe change, an addition to the product range, a new activity is introduced or the structure or layout of the premises changes, the HACCP system will need to be reviewed.
Even if no changes take place, a review of the HACCP system to determine how well it is working will be required take place at least once a year.
This review should cover such aspects as the results of checks, whether or not corrective actions have to be taken repeatedly for the same issue, the clarity of the instructions and forms being used and whether or not the system can be improved. Keeping accurate and upto- date records is central to the HACCP system. These records, which need to be kept for at least one year, show that the system is working and can support a defence of due diligence should a complaint be made against the business.
The new regulations might mean more paperwork but compliance will help to demonstrate food manufacturers’ commitment to improved safety standards ‘from farm to fork’. In a sector where consumer confidence is vital the new regulations ought to be embraced wholeheartedly.
Bulletin
Many of Britain's leading manufacturers, processors and retailers have staked their reputation on leading risk management specialists the National Britannia Group’s food safety division.
Its team of highly qualified professionals has an impressive track record of building food safety systems and can design HACCP systems on behalf of clients in the food sector, providing protection and peace of mind to managers and decision makers in this high risk environment.
The division also offers food hygiene and food safety training courses, tailored to the needs of the client company.
Its management systems are delivered via the internet to avoid expensive site installation and IT support, and are suitable for manufacturers monitoring their raw material sources.
For further information contact:
Harriet Simmons,
National Britannia Group
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