66 food business closure orders were served on Irish Restaurants, Shops, Takeaways, Hotels, Food Processors... no industry sector was spared. 88 enforcement orders were served in total during 2011. Reports indicate that this represents an increase of 12% on 2010. In absolute numbers: closure orders were at an all-time high with an increase by 9 (from 57 in 2010 - which in itself was a record). There are a number of reasons for the ever increasing numbers of businesses that get under pressure, with the economic climate being cited most frequently. Blaming the economy and pressure on individual businesses for this disastrous situation stays short of the real problem: qualification and knowledgeability of food business owners. In reality, the cost to maintain hygienic operations is small - all it takes is regular cleaning and pro-actively managing food safety with a working HACCP system.
HACCP, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points is a system in which potential food safety hazards are identified prior to a problem occurring. Ideally, a HACCP food safety management system is established before a food business starts its operations. The system has a number of benefits: It is cost-effective, because it does not depend on expensive equipment or infrastructure. It is time-effective, because it focuses attention on areas with identified risks. It is easy to implement, because it does not require extensive training or specialist knowledge - it is not rocket science.
For most food businesses, the HACCP system works with the investment of a little time and money. Implementing a HACCP system follows a set series of steps. It starts with assembling a team of operational experts, the Food Safety Team, which use their combined expertise to develop and implement a tailored food safety system that meets the exact needs of the business. In a next step, the Food Safety Team identifies the nature of products that are used and the processes these products are exposed to in the business.
After all basic information has been compiled and verified, it is time to apply the seven principles of HACCP to the operations of the (future) business: 1.) Perform a Hazard Analysis, 2.) Identify Critical Control Points, 3.) Set Critical Limits for Food Safety Control, 4.) Establish a monitoring system for each CCP, 5.) Define Corrective Action in case a limit is exceeded, 6.) Decide on Verification activities and 7.) Document the whole system.
The HACCP system contains all strategies that are necessary to ensure that all food is kept safe at all times and at all processing steps. This is predominantly time and temperature control to control potential growth of bacteria, but can also comprise foreign body control or control of chemical hazards, where these are not controlled by a Pre-Requisite Programme or by good hygiene practices like cleaning, controlled storage or the prevention of cross-contamination.
Once the HACCP system is implemented to the necessary standards, all it takes to maintain the system is the provision of records and the time to record and evaluate the results that are generated by the HACCP system.
The biggest advantage of the system, however is that food business operators become very clear of what is required in their business to ensure no customer can ever contract a food borne illness from a product that originated in the business. To tie this back to the threat of closure: a food business operator who is clear about the potential problems in the business and what to do to avoid them can easily and with little effort maintain the premises in a hygienically acceptable condition.
MKRMS Food Safety provide help with designing and implementing bespoke HACCP systems. If you need help or want information, contact Matthias on 086-835 55 46 or email mkausch@mkrms.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment