It began as a way to prevent upset stomach in space. Now it’s
making your food safer.
The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System puts
total quality management
guidelines to work on your dinner.
"HACCPS is designed to set controls into place that will
eliminate, prevent,
control or reduce food safety hazards in processing," said
Estes Reynolds.
Reynolds is a food scientist with the University of Georgia
Extension Service. He
coordinates the Extension Outreach Programs of the UGA Food
Processing Research and
Development Lab.
"Pillsbury first devised this system for NASA to ensure
that space-travel food was
safe," he said.
Now HACCPS is bringing the most sweeping food inspection
changes in 30 years.
Current systems require inspectors to use sight, smell and
physical checks to see how
well processors prevent food hazards and control quality.
HACCPS takes it a step further.
"Safety is built into the program to ensure that the
hazards don’t occur,"
Reynolds said. "This lowers the overall level of
problems."
The system includes temperature controls to prove meat was
cooked hot enough to kill
bacteria. It has checks to show that all food surfaces are
cleaned and sanitized.
Some new regulations can cost shoppers more at the store. But
Reynolds feels this
program will save them money in the end.
"It will probably cost the consumer much less because
they will get ready-to-eat
food free of pathogenic microorganisms," he said.
HACCPS works best, he said, when all workers are trained from
the ground up and the
process controls documented at each critical control point.
The Food and Drug Administration already requires HACCPS for
all inspected fish
products. The new FDA food code proposes it for all FDA
processing plants.
"The new USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
megaregulations call for the
implementation of the HACCPS concept for the meat and poultry
industry," Reynolds
said.
"This is the most significant regulatory change for the
meat and poultry industry
since the Wholesome Meat and Poultry Act was passed in
1967," he said.
When these processors use HACCPS, they will have documented
controls for chemical,
physical and biological food safety hazards.
"Now you are preventing food safety problems rather than
detecting them, as with
the old system," Reynolds said. "This puts the
controls into place to prevent
the problems."
Food processors nationwide are starting to use HACCPS. UGA
food scientists are helping
teach them how.
The food scientists have conducted three three-day workshops
this year on using HACCPS.
The next is May 9-11 in Atlanta.
The American Association of Meat Processors, National
Association of Meat Purveyors and
American Meat Science Association also sponsor the trainings.
"These workshops involve more than 200 major, medium and
small meat and poultry
processors," Reynolds said.
"This same system is now being used in the Serve Safe
Program offered for
certification by the National Restaurant Association," he
said. "And Extension
agents are teaching it throughout the state."
The deadline to register for the Atlanta workshop is May 1.
The fee is $495. The
International HACCPS Alliance will certify everyone completing
the workshop.
To register, call UGA Food Science at (706) 542-2574. Or call
any of the sponsors.
