What is HACCP Certification?

1) Assemble HACCP Team

The food operation should ensure that the appropriate Product-specific knowledge and expertise are available to develop an effective HACCP plan. Optimally, this may accomplish by assembling a multidisciplinary team. Where such expertise is not available on-site, should obtain expert advice from other sources, such as trade and industry associations, independent experts, regulatory authorities, HACCP literature, and HACCP guidance.

A well-trained individual with access to such guidance may possibly implement HACCP in-house. The scope should describe which segment of the food chain is involved and the general hazards to address (e.g., does it cover all classes of hazards or only selected classes).

2) Describe the Product

A full description of the Product should be drawn up, including relevant safety information such as Composition, physical/chemical structure (Including Aw, pH, etc.), microbial/static treatments (heat treatment, freezing, brining, smoking, etc.), packaging, durability and storage conditions and method of distribution.

Within a business with multiple products, for example, catering operations, it may be adequate to group products with similar characteristics of processing steps to develop the HACCP plan.

3) Identify Intended Use

The intended use should be based on the expected uses of the Product by the end-user or consumer. In specific cases, vulnerable groups of the population, e.g., institutional feeding, may have to be considered.

4) Construction Flow Diagram

The HACCP team should construct the flow diagram. The flow diagram should cover all steps in operation for a specific product. The same flow diagram may be used for several manufactured products using similar processing steps. When applying HACCP to a given operation, the steps preceding and following the specified operation should be considered.

5) On-Site Confirmation of Flow Diagram

Steps must be taken to confirm the processing operation against the flow diagram during all stages and hours and amend the flow diagram where appropriate. The confirmation of the flow diagram should be performed by a person or persons with sufficient knowledge of the processing operation.

6) Conduct Hazard Analysis

The HACCP team should list all the hazards that may be reasonably expected to occur at each step according to the scope from primary production, processing, manufacture, and distribution until the point of consumption.

The HACCP team should conduct a hazard analysis to identify for the HACCP plan which hazards are of such a nature that their elimination or reduction to acceptable levels is essential to producing safe food.

7) Determine Critical Control Points

There may be more than one CCP where control is applied to address the same hazard. The determination of a CCP in the HACCP system can be facilitated by applying a decision tree, which indicates a logical reasoning approach. The application of a decision tree should be flexible, given whether the operation is for production, slaughter, processing, storage, distribution, or other. It should be used for guidance when determining CCPs.

This example of a decision tree may not apply to all situations. Other approaches may be used. Training in the application of the decision tree is recommended. Suppose a hazard has been identified where control is necessary for safety, and no control measure exists at that step or any other. In that case, we should modify the Product or process to include a control measure.

8) Establish Critical limits for each CCP

Critical limits must be specified and validated for each Critical Control Point. More than one critical limit will be elaborated at a certain step in some cases. Criteria often used include temperature, time, moisture level, pH, Aw, available chlorine, and sensory parameters such as visual appearance and texture.

Where experts have developed HACCP guidance to establish the critical limits, care should be taken to ensure that these limits apply to the specific operation, Product, or groups of products under consideration. These critical limits should be measurable.

9) Establish a monitoring system for each CCP

Monitoring is the scheduled measurement or observation of a CCP relative to its critical limits. The monitoring procedures must detect loss of control at the CCP. Further, monitoring should ideally provide this information in time to make adjustments to ensure process control to prevent violating the critical limits. Process adjustments should be made where monitoring results indicate a trend towards losing control at a CCP.

The adjustments should be taken before a deviation occurs. A designated person with knowledge and authority must evaluate data derived from monitoring to carry out corrective actions when indicated. Most monitoring procedures for CCPs will need to be done rapidly because they relate to online processes. There will not be measurements often referred to as microbiological testing because they may be done rapidly and can often indicate the microbiological control of the Product.

All records and documents associated with monitoring CCPs must be signed by the persons doing the monitoring and by responsible reviewing company officials.

10) Establish Corrective Actions

Specific corrective actions must be developed for each CCP in the HACCP system to deal with deviations when they occur.

The actions must ensure that the CCP has been brought under control. Actions taken must also include proper disposition of the affected Product. Deviation and product disposition procedures must be documented in the HACCP record keeping.

11) Establish Verification Procedures

Establish procedures for verification; Verification auditing methods, procedures, and tests, including random sampling and analysis, can be used to determine if the HACCP system is working correctly. The frequency of verification should be sufficient to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively.

Verification should be done by someone other than the person responsible for monitoring and corrective actions. Where certain verification activities cannot be performed in-house, external experts or qualified third parties should perform verification on behalf of the business.

12) Establish Documentation and Record-Keeping

Efficient and accurate record-keeping is essential to the application of a HACCP system. HACCP procedures should be documented. Documentation and record-keeping should be appropriate to the nature and size of the operation and sufficient to assist the business in verifying that the HACCP controls are in place and being maintained. Expertly developed HAACP guidance materials may be utilized as a part of the documentation, provided those materials reflect the specific food operations of the business.

A simple record-keeping system can be effective and easily communicated to employees. It may be integrated into existing operations and use paperwork, such as delivery invoices and checklists, to record, for example, product temperatures.

How to Get HACCP Certification?

HACCP is an internationally used standard in food manufacturing, processing, treatment, and service organizations. HACCP application is a constitutional requirement for food industries in many countries. The association with a quality management system enables the food industry to manage the safety of food products under the defined management system structure. HACCP principles require identifying the vital control points in the manufacturing or service progressions and set-ups up food safety controls.

To become HACCP certified, you must successfully pass a third-party certification audit provided by a qualified food safety auditor. The idea of an audit can be a source of anxiety, even for businesses that embrace HACCP principles. But the process doesn’t need to be a negative experience.

HACCP Certification in Pakistan

The HACCP Certification in Pakistan is not an easy task as there are several verification procedures and steps. Many restaurants and companies will hire a HACCP team to handle the burden of developing and writing a HACCP plan and the implementation process.