Each year, food waste totals to an average of 1.3 billion tones worldwide. The statistics are quite sad because countless people go to bed hungry every night.
To avoid food wastage, you must first control potential food safety issues. That is where HACCP comes into play.
So, what is HACCP and its importance in the food industry? Hazard analysis critical control points is an approach aimed at reducing threats that face food safety. Businesses in the food industry have a lot to gain from implementing a HACCP plan.
Keep reading this article to understand more about the HACCP management system.
Hazard Analysis
A key aspect of the HACCP plan is the identification and analysis of hazards. If you neglect the analysis of food products, then you create a gateway for potential threats. Hazard analysis helps you determine the probability and extent of each hazard.
For instance, you could be running a food service that deals with lactose-free and products containing lactose. You must be extra careful about hygiene standards to avoid cross-contamination.
It can easily happen during production, leading to the wrong labeling of these foods.
Control Points
Determining critical control points is key in the HACCP protocol. This entails processes that ensure food is safe from any chemical or physical hazards. The control pints include refrigeration, hazard detection, chemical testing, among others.
The critical points vary for different food products. Foods that have a high PH may need more thermal regulation than acidic foods. For instance, rice is easily attacked by microbial pathogens, which cause food poisoning.
Deviations from set standard points can lead to severe food safety issues. Experts use flow diagrams to help them make decisions on control points.
Contaminant Levels
In the HACCP process, critical limits help determine the effectiveness of control points. Regulatory bodies allow a certain contaminant limit in the food.
However, past that limit, the food becomes poisonous. You can reject or accept a batch of food depending on the contaminants in the sample.
The food and drug administration establishes control standards in setting critical limits. You risk losing your consumer base when you fail to comply with the standards. Besides, selling food with high contaminant levels will attract trouble with regulatory bodies.
Corrective Points
The aim of your HACCP plan should be to prevent food safety hazards. Yet, it’s hard to encounter a situation where there are zero deviations from the norm. Contaminants will always be present, but the HACCP process minimizes them.
Businesses apply corrective actions to cut profit loss due to the contaminants. These actions protect both the food vendor and the consumer from food safety issues.
The aim of your HACCP plan should be to prevent food safety hazards. Yet, it’s hard to encounter a situation where there are zero deviations from the norm. Contaminants will always be present, but the HACCP process minimizes them.
Businesses apply corrective actions to cut profit loss due to the contaminants. These actions protect both the food vendor and the consumer from food safety issues.
Understanding What Is HACCP
Before reading this article, you might have been wondering what is HACCP and its benefits. Now, you understand that it’s a management system put in place to correct food safety issues.
It’s a process that allows the identification and analysis of hazards.
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