HACCP Principle No. 5: Establish Corrective Actions

The fifth principle of HACCP is to establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from an established critical limit. The specific corrective actions depend upon the process used and type of food produced. Corrective action procedures and responsibilities for their implementation need to be specified.

The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility must establish and implement written corrective action procedures that must be taken if preventive controls are not properly implemented.

This will include action to bring the process back under control and action to deal with product manufactured while the process was out of control.

The corrective actions consist of:
• Identifying and eliminating the cause of the deviation,
• Ensuring that the CCP is under control after the corrective action is taken,
• Ensuring that measures are established to prevent recurrence, and
• Ensuring that no product affected by the deviation is shipped.

Individuals who have a thorough understanding of the process, product and HACCP plan should be assigned the responsibility for oversight of corrective actions. As appropriate, experts may be consulted to review the information available and to assist in determining disposition of non-compliant product.
HACCP Principle No. 5: Establish Corrective Actions

Monitoring system of CCP

The fourth principle of HACCP is to establish CCP monitoring requirements and procedures for using the results of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain control. The HACCP Team should specify monitoring requirements for management of the CCP within its Critical Limits.

The monitoring system describes the methods by which the business is able to confirm that all CCPs are operating within the defined critical limit. This will involve specifying monitoring actions along with monitoring frequency and responsibility.

Monitoring is a planned sequence of observations or measurements used to assess whether a CCP is under control. These observations will be necessary to produce an accurate record and for future use in verification.

In a HACCP system, monitoring procedures must be designed to accomplish the following objectives.
*Track the operation of the process and enable the identification of trends toward a loss of process control that would necessitate process adjustments.
*Identify when there is a loss of process control and a deviation occurs at a CCP.
*Provide written documentation of the process control System.

Monitoring frequency will depend on the critical limit and the observations and measurements that are needed. The length of monitoring period will determine the amount of product affected by the critical limit deviation.

Each CCP must be monitored by a specific individual. Personnel to Consider including:
•Line Supervisors
•QC Personnel
•Selected Line Workers
•Maintenance Maintenance
Monitoring system of CCP

Principle 3 of HACCP

Principle 3 of HACCP is to establish Critical Limits for control measures associated with each identified CCP. For every Critical Control Point (CCP) identified, there must be a Critical Limit (CL), or a parameter to indicate whether or not the control measure is, in fact, controlling the identified hazards.

Critical Limits are the parameters that indicate whether the control measure at the CCP is in or out of control. The Critical Limits describe the difference between safe and unsafe product at the CCPs. They must involve a measurable parameter and may also be known as the absolute tolerance or safety limit for the CCP.

The establishment must consider the food safety standard that must be met at each CCP. Critical limits are designed to ensure applicable targets or performance standards pertaining to the specific process or product.

Critical limit design should be based on applicable FSIS regulationsor compliance guidelines, FDA tolerances, scientific and technical literature, experimental studies, or the recommendations of recognized experts in the industry, academia, or processing authorities. Critical limits should not be confused with operational limits which are established for reasons other than food safety.

Failure to meet a CL is defined as a deviation. If a deviation occurs, food products being produced are unsafe or potentially unsafe. Exceeding Critical Exceeding Critical Limit indicates:
•Existence of direct health hazard.
•Direct health hazard could develop.
•Product not produced under conditions assuring safety.
Principle 3 of HACCP

Basic operations of food safety

The practice of food safety in a large extend can be distilled down to three basic operations:
• Protection of the food supply from harmful contamination
• Prevention of the development and spread of harmful contamination
• Effective removal of contamination and contaminants

Most food safety procedures fall into one, or more than one, of these categories. Much regulatory reform has taken place and is continuing in response to new science-based information and pressures from consumers and food related industries.

Food Quality Protection Act of 1986, developed in response to public and industry concern over food safety and there are specific laws deal with food additive and pesticides that have governed the contamination aspects of food safety quite successfully.

Keeping foods free from contamination is a job that falls to many parties. It is the responsibility on only of government officials at the national, state, and local levels but also of everyone who concern in contact with food or the producer, the manufacturer, the retailer and the ultimately the consumer.

As with all health and safety problems, prevention is usually the most desirable option. Prevention is considered first line of defense against intentional contamination. The key to prevention is awareness of this potential threat and the implementation of basic security and precautionary measures.

It has been demonstrated that the effectiveness of foods safety systems relies heavily on coordination, collaboration and communication of all activities not only to be cost effective but also to increase confidence.

The development of an effective food safety strategy must be based on a reliable system of information.
Basic operations of food safety 

The Principles of HACCP

The Principles of HACCP
The HACCP system consist of seven principles which outline how to establish, implement, and maintain a HACCP plan for the operation under study.

The HACCP Principles have international acceptance and details of this approach have been published by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.

Principle 1
Conduct a hazard analysis. Prepare list of steps in the process, identify where significant could occur and describe the control measures.

Principle 1 describes where the HACCP Team should start. A Process Flow Diagram is put together detailing all the steps in the process from incoming raw materials to finished product. When complete the HACCP team identifies all the hazards that could occur at each stage establish the risk to determine the significant hazards and describes measures for their control. These may be existing or new control measures.

Principle 2
Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs). When all the hazards and control measures have been described, the HACCP Team establishes the points here control is critical to assuring the safety of the product. These are the Critical Control Points of CCPs.

Principle 3
Establish Critical Limits for control measures associated with each identified CCP. The Critical Limits describe the difference between safe and unsafe product at the CCPs. They must involve a measurable parameter and may also be known as the absolute tolerance or safety limit for the CCP.

Principle 4
Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP. The HACCP Team should specify monitoring requirements for management of the CCP within its Critical Limits. This will involve specifying monitoring actions along with monitoring frequency and responsibility.

In addition, procedures will need to be established to adjust the process and maintain control according to the monitoring results.

Principle 5
Establish the corrective actions to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control. Corrective action procedures and responsibilities for their implementation need to be specified.

This will include action to bring the process back under control and action to deal with product manufactured while the process was out of control.

Principle 6
Establish procedures for verification to confirm that the HACCP System is working correctly. Verification procedures must be developed to maintain the HACCP System and ensure that it continues to work effectively.

Principle 7
Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principle and their application. Records must be kept to demonstrate that the HACCP System is operating under control and that appropriate corrective action has been taken for any deviations from the Critical Limits.

This will provides evidence of safe product manufacture.
The Principles of HACCP