Why should I bother with HACCP?

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP for short, is an internationally recognised food safety management system. It’s designed to ensure product safety and, when implemented effectively, can prevent product safety incidents. It’s not a replacement for good hygiene practices and documentation, but these and other prerequisites form a firm foundation for a successful HACCP plan. Combine this with positive employee engagement and you’re off to a good start.

Do I really need a HACCP plan?

Whether you’re a large or small food or drink manufacturer producing food for sale and consumption, a HACCP plan is a legal requirement. Moreover every major food retailer will insist on your having an effective HACCP plan. They want to be sure that the food they sell to their customers has been produced under strict controls to ensure safety throughout the supply chain. This is particularly pertinent if you are producing own-label products for them. So, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes – you do need a HACCP plan!’

How will my HACCP plan ensure my products are safe?

Your HACCP plan will enable you to identify Critical Control Points throughout the production process. Critical Control Points are steps where a control is required to reduce a potential hazard to acceptable levels. A hazard could be physical e.g. pieces of plastic, metal, glass or other elements, chemical – e.g. cleaning fluid, microbiological or allergenic. Those controls might be heating to 70°C or above to destroy pathogenic bacteria; or sieving or using metal detectors for physical hazards etc.

By systematically going through your production process step-by-step you can produce a documented system that increases confidence in your product and demonstrates management commitment to safe food practices.

Are there any other benefits?

Not only does HACCP help ensure that the food you produce is safe to eat, it’s also an effective cost and resource control system. Since every point at which a potential hazard could occur is covered, it means less wastage and rework. When implemented effectively it should prevent product recalls on food safety grounds.

Having a well-maintained and up-to-date HACCP plan is also a good Due Diligence defence, should you ever need to use it. It demonstrates that you have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid a breach of food safety and hygiene laws.

Of course, it goes without saying that if your HACCP plan is to remain effective, it needs to be reviewed and monitored on a regular basis. If there are any changes to layout, production, staff, recipe formulations etc. the HACCP plan needs to reflect them. Even things like the substitution of one ingredient for another or a reduction in the amount of sugar can affect food safety if the effects of doing so have not been considered.

Where can I find quality HACCP training?

At Verner Wheelock we deliver HACCP training courses at all levels. Our Level 2 course leads to the RSPH Level 2 Award In Understanding HACCP and is suitable for operatives. The Level 3 course, suitable for supervisors, leads to the RSPH Level 3 Award in Understanding How to Develop a HACCP Plan. Our advanced level HACCP training is for managers leads to the RSPH Level 4 Award in Managing the HACCP System.

We also deliver our own HACCP Refresher course which satisfies BRCGS requirements for HACCP refresher training. It is recommended that HACCP training is refreshed at least every three years.

Courses are available as face-to-face or remote training. If you have five or more staff to train, you might want to consider our in-house training option which can also be face-to-face at your own premises? or remote – the latter option allows you to train employees from different sites on the same course.

For details of all our HACCP and other training courses, please visit www.vwa.co.uk, where you will also be able see testimonials from previous delegates.