Home Food Ingredient Safety HACCP Analyses, Permanent & Temporary Plans

HACCP Analyses, Permanent & Temporary Plans

HACCP, or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points is a global standard process for assessing risk and controlling the safety of foods and food materials. HACCP is consistent with and connected to the principles, guidelines and objectives contained within the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius (International Food Standards). HACCP was classically associated with high-risk foods and processes such as low-acid, canned food, juice and seafood processing, however, as it became accepted as a benchmark for food safety globally, its concepts, procedures and objectives were applied more broadly. Organizations representing food industry segments have, over the years, created generic HACCP plans or procedures for their members. Examples include HACCP plans and processes for:

• the meat industry
• packaged convenience foods
• agricultural operations
• baking industry
• restaurants and food preparation facilities

HACCP plans traditionally focused on control of temperature, time, pH, moisture and water activity, particle size, metal detection and other basic characteristics in need of control and monitoring to assure human safety, however, depending upon the process, product and end-to-end methodologies, other characteristics must be monitored in order to ensure safety.

HARPC Analysis

Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls (HARPC) is a U.S. standard. It can be characterized as having similarities to HACCP yet it also embodies differences which are directly linked to objectives and requirements contained within the Food Safety Modernization Act, overseen and enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Several notable differences between HACCP and HARPC include:

• HARPC’s requirement that process oversight be provided by a trained, experienced "Preventive Controls Qualified Individual" (PCQI) with training and experience, as opposed to HACCP, which operates on a team approach, with members assembled from internal functional groups.
• HARPC requires that participants investigate, scrutinize and verify the food safety preparedness, functionality and effectiveness of their vendors and suppliers. Therefore, each participant effectively monitors its upstream sources of supply for understanding of and application of food safety prerequisite programs, preventive controls and compliance with other HARPC systems.
• HARPC emphasizes “Preventative Controls”. HACCP principles are based on “Critical Control Points” and limits.

EHA’s HARPC and HACCP experts provide clients with guidance for complying with HACCP, HARPC and, in many cases, developing a food safety process and program.

Contact EHA Consulting Group today for more information about how we can assist your company.