HACCP NOTES 1

E3 SIBAYAN

INTRODUCTION TO HACCP
Hazard/s
- a situation/ event which will expose an individual to danger/ harm/ pain/ illness.
Safety
- the condition of being protected from known hazards
Safe Environment
- the absence of hazards
Health
- According to the WHO (World Health Organization) is a state of complete physical, mental, and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
Types of Hazards:
1. Chemical Hazards otherwise known as toxic irritants.
Chemicals are divided into two primary categories: prohibited substances and
unavoidable poisonous or deleterious substances. Unavoidable poisonous or deleterious
substances have FDA tolerance levels or action levels, in the event that exposure or introduction
is unavoidable. Products that fall into these categories include pesticides, herbicides, growth
hormones and antibiotics, additives and processing aids, lubricants, paints, cleaners and
sanitizers. There are a number of manuals available which contain a laundry list of other items
that could contaminate.
The FD&C Act regulates all of the above except pesticides. Those products without
tolerance levels must not be present in any amount. Chemicals which should be considered
include color additives, direct food additives, indirect food additives, prior-sanctioned substances,
pesticide chemicals and substances generally recognized as safe. All chemicals used in and
around manufactured product should have specifications developed, as well as a letter of
guarantee from the manufacturer. Chemical hazards should be addressed in steps in the
production process: storage, during use (cleaning agents, sanitizers), prior to receipt (in
ingredients and packaging materials), upon receipt of materials, during processing and prior to
shipment of product.
2. Physical Hazards - any extraneous object or foreign matter in a food item which may cause
illness or injury to a person consuming the product.
These foreign objects include, but are not limited to bone or bone chips, metal flakes or
fragments, injection needles, BB's or shotgun pellets, pieces of product packaging, stones, glass
or wood fragments, insects or other filth, personal items, or any other foreign material not
normally found in food products. Sources for such contaminants include raw materials, badly
maintained facilities and equipment, improper production procedures and poor employee
practices.
3. Biological Hazards - Biological hazards seem to have a more notorious impact on public opinion
than physical or chemical risks, probably because biological risks are more frequently reported,
and normally affect to a certain extent a large number of consumers.
In addition, biological hazards generally induce acute symptoms, which make them
noticeable by the consumer. They can affect the food at any step, and they may be macro and
microbiological hazards. Macrobiological hazards are those which are seen without the aid of a
microscope, like insects or small mammals. They hardly ever pose a real hazard for food safety,
because although unpleasant it is easy for the consumer to remove them from the food.
4. Ergonomic Hazards are considered physical hazards and are caused by repetitive motion.
Repetitive motion injuries develop over time and occur when muscles and joints are stressed,
tendons are inflamed, nerves are pinched and the flow of blood is restricted
5. Electrical Hazard - is a dangerous condition where a worker can or does make electrical contact
with energized equipment or a conductor. From that contact, the person may sustain an injury
from shock, and there is a potential for the worker to receive an arc flash (electrical explosion)
burn, thermal burn or blast injury.
6. Fire Hazards is considered the most common hazard. is situation where there is greater than
normal risk of harm to property or people due to fire. It can be defined as a hazardous area where
fire will start or where smokes or gasses can be generated, or where an explosion can occur
endangering the lives of people.
7. Psychosocial Hazard - While stress is readily acknowledged to be a common feature of modern
life, defining stress, its causes, symptoms and effects is a very complex matter. It is now widely
acknowledged that stress at work is a very common problem and that it has a high cost in terms
of workers health, absenteeism and lower performance. In the longer term, stress can contribute
to peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel diseases and musculoskeletal problems as well as
hypertension, and as a consequence to the development of heart and cardiovascular diseases. It
REFERENCES: University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Food Safety OSHA Manual for Safety HSO CFS
(CENTER FOR FOOD AND SAFETY)

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may also alter immune functions, which may in turn facilitate the development of cancer. Taken
together, these disorders are responsible for the great majority of disease, death, disability and
medical care use in most industrialized countries. They are also significant causes of death in
developing countries.
Organizations related to Health Promotion and Safety
1. OSHA was formerly known as the Occupational Safety and Health Authority but is now known
as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is considered the main federal
agency charged with the enforcement of safety and health legislation
2. WHO The World Health Organization is an international organization concerned with
international public health
3. DOLE Department of Labor and Employment is the executive department of the Philippine
government concerned and mandated to formulate policies and programs regarding employment
4. DOH Department of Health is the executive department of the Philippine government
concerned with the implementation and formulation of programs related to health
5. FDA Food and Drug Administration is an agency in the United States responsible for promoting
and protecting public health through the regulation and monitoring of food safety
6. BFAD Bureau of Food and Drugs is an agency by the Philippine government who ensures the
quality and safety of food and other products such as medicine. It is now known as the Food and
Drug Administration (Philippines)
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
- Is a prevention based program that identifies and monitors hazards associated with food
production
The Seven Principles of HACCP
1. Perform Hazard Analysis - A food safety hazard is any biological, chemical or physical
property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption. We analyze hazards to
identify any hazardous biological, chemical, or physical property in raw materials and
processing steps, and to assess their likeliness of occurrence and potential to render food
unsafe for consumption.
2. Identify the Critical Control Points (CCPs) - A critical control point is a point, a step or a
procedure in a food manufacture process at which control can be applied and, as a result, a
food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to an acceptable level.
Not every point identified with hazards and preventive measures will become a critical control
point. A logical decision-making process is applied to determine whether or not the process is
a critical control point. The logical decision-making process for determining critical control
points may include factors such as:
o whether control at this particular step is necessary for safety;
o whether control at this step eliminates or reduces the likely occurrence of the hazard
to an acceptable level;
o whether contamination with the hazard identified could occur in excess of acceptable
levels;
o whether subsequent steps will eliminate or acceptably reduce the hazard
3. Establish Critical Limits (thresholds) which must be met at every identified CCP - Limit for
critical control point is a criterion which separates acceptability from unacceptability. It is the
maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical hazard must be
controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the
occurrence of the identified food safety hazard.
Examples of limits for critical control point are time, temperature, humidity, water activity and
pH value. The limits should be measurable.
In some cases, more than one critical limit is needed to control a particular hazard
4. Establish procedures to monitor CCPs - Monitoring is a planned sequence of observations
or measurements to assess whether a critical control point is under control and to produce an
accurate record for future use in verification. Monitoring is very important for a HACCP
system. Monitoring can warn the plant if there is a trend towards loss of control so that it can
take action to bring the process back into control before the limit is exceeded.
The employee responsible for the monitoring procedure should be clearly identified and
adequately trained.

REFERENCES: University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Food Safety OSHA Manual for Safety HSO CFS
(CENTER FOR FOOD AND SAFETY)

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5. Establish corrective actions to be taken when a critical limit has been exceeded - Corrective
action is an action taken when the results of monitoring at the critical control point indicate
that the limit is exceeded, i.e. a loss of control.
Since HACCP is a preventive system to correct problems before they affect food safety, plant
management has to plan in advance to correct potential deviations from established critical
limits. Whenever a limit for critical control point is exceeded, the plant will need to take
corrective actions immediately.
The plant management has to determine the corrective action in advance. The employees
monitoring the critical control point should understand this process and be trained to perform
the appropriate corrective actions.
6. Establish procedures to verify that the HACCP system is working - Verification is the
application of methods, procedures, tests and other evaluations, in addition to monitoring, to
determine compliance with the HACCP plan.
Some examples of verification are the calibration of process monitoring instruments at
specified intervals, direct observation of monitoring activities, and corrective actions. Besides,
sampling of product, monitoring records review and inspections can serve to verify the
HACCP system.
The plant management should check that the employees are keeping accurate and timely
HACCP records.
7. Establish effective record keeping that will document the HACCP system - Maintaining
proper HACCP records is an essential part of the HACCP system. Accurate and complete
HACCP records can be very helpful for:
o documentation of the establishment's compliance with its HACCP plan;
o tracing the history of an ingredient, in-process operations, or a finished product, when
problem arise;
o identifying trends in a particular operation that could result in a deviation if not
corrected;
o identifying and narrowing a product recall.
The record of a HACCP system should include records for critical control points,
establishments of limits, corrective actions, results of verification activities, and the HACCP
plan including hazard analysis.
To establish recordkeeping procedures, plant management may:
o develop forms to fully record corrective actions taken when deviations occur;
o identify employees responsible for entering monitoring data into the records and
ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities

Reminders: Please review this given notes for your quiz on Monday, there are
some parts which were not discussed but are considered to be your reading
assignment. The quiz will be partly application and partly objective type, so
please take time to review. T.Y.
M ELY

REFERENCES: University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Food Safety OSHA Manual for Safety HSO CFS
(CENTER FOR FOOD AND SAFETY)

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