In order to produce safe food, many regulatory authorities require that food producers follow Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles. The seven principles of HACCP are:
- Establish a flow diagram of the process.
- Conduct a hazard analysis.
- Identify critical control points.
- Establish critical limits for each critical control point.
- Develop corrective actions for when critical limits are not met.
- Establish a monitoring plan to track results at each critical control point.
- Conduct a final review to determine if the HACCP plan is working. The flow diagram of the process should be drawn up in a generic form that can be modified to suit individual processes. The hazard analysis is used to identify potential hazards that can occur in a process.
The identification of critical control points gives an indication as to where the most dangerous situations are likely to occur. Critical limits at each of these points should be established and monitored regularly to ensure that they remain within tolerance.
