No one in the food industry needs to be told what HACCP stands for (hazard analysis critical control point), but put simply, it is good news for everyone else. Identifying potential hazards in food processing and addressing them has been a fundamental component of the industry for a century or more, and as our science improves, it is embedded and improved even more. Today’s HACCP equipment has evolved in tandem with scientific improvements in food processing and other workplaces’ hygiene, and keeping workflows safe for workers and the consumers who buy the products that come off the production line.
That said, not all equipment is made equal, no matter that the same standards apply to all companies obliged by legislation to institute such controls. In a nutshell, HACCP is recognised as having seven basic steps towards successful implementation. To start, a food maker, for example, will conduct a hazard analysis, and this will include potential hazards for workers on site, as well as hazardous implications for consumers from their processes. The contamination of food and exposure to dangerous machinery or chemicals for workers are usually uppermost in mind when the analysis is conducted. Hazards will be eliminated or prevented, and the reasons for identifying process components as hazardous points is also listed.
HACCP Exists for Everyone
Once possibly hazardous processes or touch points are identified, critical control points (CCP) are defined, which are points in the manufacturing process where hazards can be eliminated or controlled. Many potential hazards can be eliminated by establishing a single control point, and conversely, some hazards require several control points in order to be rendered neutral.
All through this process, suitable HACCP equipment also needs to be identified to be employed at such control points, and the equipment needs to be robust and reliable, able to perform over long periods of daily production with minimal maintenance. Assuring food safety is an essential and methodical process, and equipment has evolved over the years to accommodate even the most demanding environments with the most stringent controls.
Critical limits (cl) are established to determine the needed level of control that HACCP equipment needs to apply or inform, and thereafter, monitoring procedures are defined and practised to exercise the needed control at identified control points. This might be as simple as having a constant human presence at the CP, or it might involve sophisticated machinery that removes or rearranges things at that stage of production, in order to eliminate hazards from that point on.
When critical limits are exceeded, the team will decide on a course of corrective action, and the penultimate step then becomes verification. Any HACCP process or plan entails verification that all is working in harmony, and that the ultimate aim－the elimination of hazards－is being achieved. The final and very important step in HACCP is record keeping. Historical records are essential in food production, as it enables the manufacturer to prove beyond a doubt that HACCP was correctly applied at all stages of production, eliminating liability by operating strictly within a defined (and legislated) HACCP process.
Pescatech is HACCP at Its Best
Pescatech offers a range of HACCP equipment that is battle-tested and ready to provide extremely accurate results and consistent performance. HACCP can become a cost centre, but that is only when substandard equipment is employed, making manual work for staff and slowing production at various critical points. Fast and efficient are the watchwords of modern food production, and that pretty much describes our service too!
Call Pescatech when superior HACCP counts－we offer great products, affordable prices, and service with a smile.
