ISO 22000/HACCP – Food Safety Management Systems

 

HACCP – Hazard analysis and critical control points – is a method applied by food business operators to protect the quality and safety of foodstuffs, method based on two objectives:

  1. HA – Hazard Analysis
  2. CCP – Critical Control Points – identification of production stages/points in which the identified hazards are effectively controlled by monitoring;

HACCP, according to CODEX ALIMENTARIUS issued by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and WHO (World Health Organization) has 7 principles:

  1. Potential food hazards can be identified; This means that both microbial hazards (aging products) and pollution (chemical pollution, foreign objects) are taken into consideration;
  2. The points identified as critical to food safety which can be kept under control must be considered as “critical control points” (ex: the storage process);
  3. The critical limits determined for critical points must be respected (ex: minimum and maximum temperature to refrigerate meat products);
  4. In CCP, food hazards are kept under control by monitoring the operating parameters (for example a temperature monitoring system);
  5. Preventive measures are provided in advance and these measures must be applied if monitoring indicates any variations(deviations);
  6. The system should be regularly checked for effectiveness and adjusted regularly whenever the food business operations change;
  7. The company must have a documentation/procedures regarding these principles and their implementation; the company must also keep records of procedures’ implementation.

HG 924/ 2005 privind aprobarea regulilor generale pentru igiena produselor alimentare transpuneREGULAMENTUL (CE) NR. 852/2004 AL PARLAMENTULUI EUROPEAN ȘI AL CONSILIULUI din 29 aprilie 2004privind igiena produselor alimentare (modificat prin Regulamentele CE Nr. 1019/2008 respectiv 219/2009) carestipuleaza ca “Operatorii din sectorul alimentar elaborează, aplică și utilizează în permanență o procedură sau maimulte proceduri bazate pe principiile HACCP”.

ISO 22000 establishes requirements for food safety management system and actually, it is a combination of quality standard ISO 9001 with HACCP principles.

A Food Safety Management System implemented and certified against ISO 22000 requirements indicates:

  • the organization commitment for implementation of food hygiene system;
  • organization’s ability to ensure food safety.