June, 1997

HACCP: Earthbound food safety practice

has Space Age origins

The current buzzword in the food industry is actually an acronym - HACCP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points). Its origin is closely linked to a more familiar acronym - NASA.
HACCP was devised as a way to meet the nutritional needs of astronauts and ensure food safety. Since that time, it has become a standard procedure in some canned foods; a requirement for meat, poultry and seafood; is likely to be coming soon to the manufacture of fruit juices; and is even a possibility for fresh produce.
The system is used to prevent, reduce or minimize risks associated with foods, with the emphasis placed on reducing or minimizing.
"You're dealing with a perishable, so you can't expect to totally prevent things," said Al Booren of Michigan State University Extension, who works with meat packers and processors on food safety issues. "HACCP is a framework to produce food safely and to prove it was produced safely."
HACCP is prominent in the Clinton Administration's $43 million food safety initiative announced in May. While not mandating HACCP, it does encourage food industries to voluntarily develop their own plans. The Food and Drug Administration will receive $8.5 million in part to establish HACCP programs for fruit and vegetable juices.

HACCP blasts off

The genesis of HACCP was the fear that an astronaut in space would contract a foodborne illness. Private industry, in the form of the Pillsbury Co., was chosen in 1959 to solve the problem. Pillsbury determined that the standard quality assurance programs would not meet the more stringent requirements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and began the search for something new.
Pillsbury thus developed a preventive system around NASA recordkeeping requirements and the U.S. Army's medical supply program. The result is HACCP, which is broken into hazard analysis and critical control points.
Hazard analysis is a systematic study of ingredients, food products, processing, handling, storage, packing, distribution and consumer use for potential microbiological, chemical or physical hazards. It also explores how these problems could be prevented.
Critical control points are places anywhere in the process where control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels.
HACCP principles were established in the space program by 1971, but soon spread to the private sector. Some low acid and acidified canned foods, particularly canned meats, have been made under the procedure since the early 1970s. The program succeeded to such an extent that product recalls for canned products are rare, said Booren.

A broader scope

In the mid 1980s, the National Academy of Sciences began looking at how HACCP could be applied on a wider scale. It formed the National Advisory Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria for Food, which came up with the seven major HACCP principles used today. The principles in place for seafood and under implementation for meat and poultry under what is known as the "megareg."
The seven principles are:
1. Conduct a hazard analysis. Prepare a list of steps in the process where significant hazards occur and describe the preventive measures.
2. Identify the critical control points in the process (risk assessment).
3. Establish critical limits for preventive measures associated with each identified CCP.
4. Establish CCP monitoring requirements. Establish procedures for using the results of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain control.
5. Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from an established critical limit.
6. Establish effective record-keeping procedures that document that HACCP system.
7. Establish procedures for verification that the HACCP system is working correctly.
Two elements of the NAS report were of concern to the meat industry, said Booren.
"They said the only way it will work is if it's regulated and everyone has to do it. And we should be ready to show everybody your records, some of which are trade secrets. Under the megareg, it's public information," he explained.

Putting a HACCP in place

A common reaction by states to the cider safety issue has been the establishment of good manufacturing practices (GMPs) which are the underpinning of any HACCP program. Establishment of sanitary standard operating procedures also helps provide a base. These practices control the environmental conditions to ensure safe food production and should be in place before implementing HACCP.
"The focus of HACCP is on safety. Food quality is not an issue," said Booren. "You only analyze the components that affect safety, such as the specifications for ingredient suppliers, which may require a supplier HACCP program. Expect contract packers to operate just as the people they work for."
Other necessary steps are a careful examination of the plant and equipment, written documentation of sampling and testing, training of employees. Documentation is crucial, to provide proof that the practices were indeed followed and as a defense against personal injury lawsuits by consumers.