A BRIEF HACCP PRIMER

HACCP in the food industry was pioneered by the Pillsbury Company at the request and in conjuction with NASA back in the 60's. There was a concern about the health of space astronauts: that any kind of foodborne illness from contamination by bacterial and viral pathogens, toxins, and chemical or physical hazards could result in a disaster in space. A simple aliment like diahrea would cause major problems. The idea was to eliminate this concern and it was acheived by replacing the traditional end product testing with a system that would control to insure that safe food was produced...from start to finish.

HACCP is currently a production control system for the food industry and is making deep in-roads into the kitchens of our industry as well as regulatory agencies. It is a risk-based food management system tha focuses and identifies where potential contamination can occur (the critical control points or CCPs) and strictly manages and monitors, with a strong documentation system these points as a way of ensuring the process is in control and that the safest product possible is being produced. HACCP is designed to prevent rather than catch potential hazards. This is a fundamental concept that a chef must understand for HACCP to be a successful, educational and challenging tool.

Like it or not we are becoming more market-driven, providing products that meet consumer demand. Consumers want more convenient, ready-to-eat, value and health-added products. The food and agriculture industries, and our hospitality industry are using new processing and packaging technologies, such as vacuum packaging and precooked, microwave-friendly products, which results in new food safety challenges.

The introduction of new pathogenic bacteria is a constant threat and we read about it with more frequency in our trade journals and the newspapers. Consumers have heard these same growing number of media reports about unsafe meat and poultry in supermarket cases. The internet has increased the knowledge level of the average consumer. They know, as do we, that we as professionals and an industry have neglected this aspect... food safety ....for too long.

The contemporary answer to these challenges is HACCP, a simple combination of common sense with science to ensure safer food harvest, transport, storage, production, preparation, retailing and in the end, consumption. At that point, many times we have very little choice, and often make the wrong one and serve a questionable product when in fact it should have been scrapped.

A HACCP program will.... identify monitor control .......the risks of contamination in foodservice operations.

HACCP puts the focus on food safety instead of sanitation; for us this is a big shift in thinking, or as it is modernly expressed, a "paradigm shift". Each identified "'critical" point or step In the process is continually monitored, that is controlled not only when the inspector or the boss is present. The data is recorded and documented to make sure the product is safe and the process is in control - instead of relying on the end product when it's too late to correct the problem.