The ISO 22000 / HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system is recognized as the best available approach for ensuring the safety of food. It concentrates on preventing problems rather than detecting them after they have occurred.
ISO 22000 / HACCP is premier food safety management system standard used throughout the world in food industry. It is a preventive quality management system designed for providing intensified controlling and monitoring during important processes of food suppliers that helps to improve their food safety and quality but is also able to make profits through cost reduction and reduced rejections.
HACCP Is Built Around Seven Principles
- Analysis of food hazards: biological, chemical or physical
- Identification of critical control points: raw materials, storage, processing, distribution and consumption
- Establishment of critical control limits and preventive measures: for example, minimum cooking temperature and time
- Monitoring of these critical control points
- Establishment of corrective actions
- Keeping records
- Establishing a systematic and regular auditing of the system in place by independent third party certification bodies.
Benefits of Implementing HACCP
- HACCP can be applied throughout the food chain from the primary producer to final consumer :
- HACCP reduces the need for finished product testing by identifying the hazards associated with the inputs into the process and the product and devising control measures which can be monitored in order to minimize or eliminate the hazards.
- HACCP will significantly reduce the chance of microbiological, chemical, and physical contaminants from reaching the customer.
- HACCP can reduce regulatory involvement (and hence costs) by replacing on-line inspection with regular auditing.
- HACCP principles can be applied to other aspects of food quality and regulatory requirements.
- HACCP improves communications between supplier and customer. It encourages businesses to work together more closely.
- HACCP is capable of accommodating changes such as advances in raw materials, equipment and premise design, procedures, and technological developments.
- It improves customer confidence leads to increased market share.
