What is HACCP?
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a globally recognized framework for ensuring a proper food safety management system and applies to all stages of the food chain, from beginning to end with the aim of eliminating any chemical, physical, biological or radiological food safety hazard.
Interestingly, rather than regulators, big players in the marketplace drove HACCP to become the dominant food safety system. For instances, Mc Donald’s sought to protect itself from food safety issues by requiring that its supply chain become HACCP compliant.
Who needs HACCP certification?
It is not mandatory to have a HACCP plan as your food safety management system. Despite this, implementing a HACCP plan will benefit all food businesses. The HACCP food safety system ensures that all of your food business’s processing operations are free of hazards to protect your consumers. A HACCP plan is best suited for food businesses that deal with high-risk foods and those that include allergens on their menu.
Some of the establishments that can benefit from the voluntary HACCP system include:
- Food and beverages services (eg: restaurants and hotel food services)
- Food manufacturing factory
- Retail food stores
- Cafeterias and cafes
- Catering businesses
- Food preparation services (eg: food truck)
- Food delivery service
Obtaining HACCP certification is extremely beneficial when starting a new business. Giving your customers confidence in your food safety practises from the start can give you a competitive advantage and help you build your brand name when you’re just getting started.
All in all, when a company has obtained ISO certification, it gets to improve the company productivity, improve customer’s satisfaction, enhanced company revenues as well as foster team commitment.
Why do you need a HACCP certification?
Aside from giving your customers the confidence they need to buy your products, a HACCP certification can provide you wider benefits. These advantages can be economic, safety-related, or social in nature. Among the benefits are the following:
- Fulfill your legal obligations
HACCP alongside additional food safety management systems can help you to ensure that you are compliant with all of the various acts and laws outlined by the Food Safety & Quality Division (FSQD). - Food quality standards improved
Food safety management systems direct food businesses’ attention to the right places. These various systems enable you to maintain a constant focus on quality and safety. This means that the overall quality of your food has improved. - Boost Employee Morale
Every employee wishes to believe that they work for a quality company that has a positive impact on the world. People in the food industry are especially committed to providing a great dining experience for their customers.
HACCP is a symbol of how seriously your company takes food hygiene and safety. HACCP compliance can inspire and motivate your employees, boosting morale. - Customer health
The main reason you should ensure your company follows the HACCP process voluntarily is to protect your customers’ health. By setting up appropriate control measures, you are actively protecting your customers because foodborne illnesses and allergic reactions can be severe health issues, and they very often result from poor hygiene in food preparation areas and processes. - Prevent fines and lawsuits
By implementing a HACCP process, you reduce your chances of receiving a fine as a result of a foodborne illness outbreak or unsafe practises. Furthermore, any serious food safety hazard can cause an outbreak and lead to lawsuits, which can be extremely damaging to your brand’s reputation.
Main Principles of HACCP
There are 7 principles that must be adhered to in order to be correctly abiding by HACCP. They are as follows:
- Conduct a hazard analysis
- Identify critical control points
- Establish critical limits for each critical control point
- Establish critical control point monitoring requirements
- Establish corrective actions
- Establish procedures for ensuring the HACCP system is working as intended
- Establish record keeping procedures
Overall, having a comprehensive HACCP plan benefits your food business and can only improve your it even more. It is the most secure way to ensure food safety throughout your operations.
