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Orgão Polícia

HACCP in Micro/Small Companies

Versão Portuguesa


What the law says…
 

Must be guaranteed a high level of protection of the human life and health 

All the food industry operators are responsable for ensuring that all the food given to final consumers are safe. For that they must create, apply  and maintain food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Point (HACCP) (cf. article 5 from the Regulation n.º 852/2004 of April 29), having as reference the Codex Alimentarius


Is there any flexibility?

Implementation requirements of HACCP must have the enough flexibility to be apllied in all the circumstances, including micro and small companies .The flexibility of the application of the HACCP system will apply to the food  operators that after identifying the hazard associated to each step of the process and attempt to identify all the critical points, consider not possible to determine these points. However with the implementation of the preventive measures (good hygiene practices) its possible to assure food safety .


Ease of application of the HACCP principles

One can think that the application of the HACCP principles  is very complicated, but need not be.The most important thing is to guarantee, regardless of the methodology applied, that the safety procedures are tailored to each establishment  considering the activity developed.

According to the principles of the Codex Alimentarius, the implementation of HACCP principles is made following the production flow of food, identifying all hazards in each step, determination of critical control points (CCP) to eliminate/reduce the risk and the implemented procedures for the monitoring (critical limits, surveillance, corrective measures) demonstrated by records and documents.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), counterpart of ASAE, created a methodology for the application of the HACCP principles for micro and small companies, based on the principle – “Safer Food, Better business” 1

In this methodology, the implementation of the HACCP principles is made by the practices that prevent/remove biological hazards, chemical and physical contamination. It was considered has control areas the following : Cross-contamination, Cleaning, Chilling, Cooking - 4C´s).

It was not necessary the use of technical terminology, although the process is rigorous the operators themselves construct their own food safety procedures, through responses to operational issues as: Steps/ Points to Check/ Why? / How / When to/ What to do in case of failure? How to avoid that happening again?,These procedures are based on Cross-contamination, Cleaning, Chilling, Cooking supporting the evidence for effective enforcement through the preparation of records, suitable for the nature and company size.

Considering that the operators must know well the food  they produce and  provide, this methodology permits to the small and micro companies to simplify its procedures (for example, creation of factsheets of the process/product), with good knowledge of the food  safety rules (Training and instruction of the whole team - it is important for the handlers and management) to hold responsible for the food handlers and the food operators.


1 http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/sfbb/sfbbcaterers/


The 4 C´s may help to prevent some problems connect with food safety  - In the folowing table you can find some methodology application  examples showing the control areas identify in each point a to control
Step 1
Control /Points to  control
Why?
(Principles 1 and 2 from the  HACCP system)
How/When?
(Preventing measures, Principles 3 and 4 from HACCP system)
What to do in case of failure?
(Principle 5 of HACCP system)
How to prevent new failure ?
((Principle 5 of HACCP system)
Records
(Principle 7)
Reception of raw material (RRM) If  chilled foods are a lot of  time at room temperature  they present clues of defrost, they may develop dangerous bacterial growth. It could  appear on the packages foreign bodies (stones, soil). Control labelling – durability dates, compulsory indications, special storage conditions, among others.
See the freshness of food.
Control food temperature – recording and checking periodically check the transport temperature – Foods that require cold are stored immediately –
Maintaining the Cold Chain

Cheking the condition of packages- condition of transport package  and checking product packagie
– The packaging can not be damaged, swollen  - Cross contamination
See state of cleanliness in the reception area and transport vehicle - Sanitation
Making these procedures on receipt of each raw material
 

Immediately reject the raw material where there are anomalies in reception.
Change supplier if there is a significant number of anomalies
Discard foods that contain anomalies in temperatures
If a chemical pests, broken glass or other substances come into contact with food, discard immediately

 

Training to the employees about this process step
Conduct a periodic evaluation of suppliers
Temperature recording in RRM
Storage at refrigeration Some foods need to be kept cold because there is a danger of bacterial growth

Ex: indicating food store in the cold ... º C, desserts

Check if the food is placed in the cold and protected
-Cross contamination
Keep the equipment controlled cooling - record temperature
Maintaining the Cold Chain
See cleanliness of equipment cool - Sanitization

Do this procedure at least 2 times per day

If cool equipment fails its necessary to transfer food for other equipment
See how long the food has been exposed to uncontrolled temperature – immediately cook the food at  high temperatures or reject the food
Review the procedure storage

Maintenance of refrigeration equipment
Training of employees

Temperature recording of the cold equipment
Cooking Bacteria from raw food can contaminate the cooked food
Some dangerous bacteria can survive
Continuous use of the same frying oil leads to the development of chemicals harmful to health
Separate cooked food from raw food – Cross Contamination
 Ensure good cooking - see if there is presence of blood and juices to indicate that the product is still raw, let broths and soups simmer until "bubbling" – Cooking
Check the temperature and see the degree of oxidation of frying oil (oil test)  see if the oil changed color (dark color, foam is changed) and smells(if  it smells intense that´s because  its changed – Reject it) - Cooking

Make the implementation of these procedures in the course of duties
See cleanliness of equipment / utensils - Sanitization

If the cooked food comes into contact with raw foods its necessary to reheate at elevated temperatures or rejectc if  is not possible rewarming

Check the position of the thermostat-temperature below 180 º C
Eliminate the oil if it shows signs of alteration
If foods are fried in altered oil  reject it

Rearrange the work plan
Training to the employees about this process step
Create verification system
Recording of reheating food
Recording of the temperature of the frying oil
Distribution The cooked food that are not served immediately need to be kept in hot or cold - some dangerous bacteria can grow

Bacteria from the environment can contaminate food ready to distribute

Placing food serving hot glasshouse / water bath pre-heated to a temperature of about 90 ° C (confirm with the indication of each device) in order to ensure that food are temperature above 65 ° C - Cross Contamination
Place the food to serve cold (temperatures between 0-5 ° C) in refrigeration equipment - Maintenance of Cold Chain
Handling of food with proper utensils - not directly manipulate the food with hands - Cross Contamination / Hygiene
See the cleanliness of cold equipment and hot water bath /glasshouse Sanitization
Check  the temperature of the cooling equipment at least 2 times per day when using the hot water bath/glasshouse
Tuning the hot water bath / glasshouse when the temperature is below 90 º C
Cover the hot water bath

Discard foods that have been at room temperature for more than 30 minutes
Repair the unit in case of failure;
Put the food in other similar equipment

Maintenance of refrigeration equipment
Training to the employees about this process step
Temperature Recording  of the cool equipamen_to and glasshouse/hot water baths
  • Denúncias
  • BCFT –  Comunicações e Registos
  • Processos de Contraordenação
  • Livro de Reclamações
  • Reg 2019/1020 + Medidas Restritivas
  • Asae Topics in Other Languages
  • Perguntas Frequentes
  • Fraude Alimentar
  • PROJETOS COMPETE 2020
  • Autoridade Europeia para a Segurança dos Alimentos (EFSA)
  • EEPLIANT 2
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