The words food safety programs and HACCP plan are often used interchangeably. Fundamentally they are documented systems that describe the steps a business takes to ensure the production of safe food. In other words, they are preventative systems that use a methodical approach to identify potential hazards and put in place measures that control these hazards.
In Australia, caterers who prepare food for locations other than their own are considered high risk businesses. These businesses are required in some jurisdiction to implement a HACCP-based Food Safety Program that is compliant with Standard 3.2.1 of the Food Standards Code.
Essentially, HACCP and Food Safety Programs are designed to control biological, chemical and physical hazards in foods. In order to achieve safe food production as required by the standard, all areas of consideration ranging from raw material production, procurement, handling, through to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product must operate within the safe limits of hazards identified so that no unsafe food products leave the premise.
Each Food Safety Program or HACCP must be specific to the particular business in question and cannot be copied “off the shelf”. This is because every business manufactures different products in different volumes with different equipment and facilities and supple different niche markets. These differences lead to controlling potentially quite different sets of hazards.
Large scale factories often develop full-scale HACCP Plans while small businesses are more likely to operate within the bounds of a simpler Food Safety Program. A fully third party audited HACCP plan confers marketing benefits and meets the requirements of the Food Standards Code.
Definition of HACCP – Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points is defined in the Codex. Alimentarius document Recommended International Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene. Standards Australia has also produced in Australia standards dealing with food safety management for HACCP implementation.
Basically, a Food Safety Program is a system that is based on HACCP principles but usually not as comprehensive. It encompasses requirements to conduct hazards analysis to identify potential hazards of the operation for preparation and implementation of a written program to manage identified hazards. Differences between Codex HACCP and a Food Safety Program are set out in 3.2.1 of The Food Standards Code in the Guide to 3.2.1.
Should you decide to develop a Food Safety Program for products targeted to the population at large you will be required to follow the guidelines set out in the Guide to Standard 3.2.1. Most jurisdictions have preset templates spelling out their specific requirements for easy use. Check with your local health authorities what you may be required to do for a Food Safety Program to fill in one of these templates.
Generally, in food manufacturing, a business will have several full HACCP plans as HACCP plans are product and process specific. Historically, HACCP was designed for use in the food manufacturing industry where a more limited range of products are prepared than catering operations.
In the catering business, it is not unusual to group foods in accordance with more generalised processes commonly used in the preparation, cooking and storage of foods. It is possible for foods undergoing similar preparation, cooking and storage operations to be treated as one product.
Verification is an essential component of these systems to ensure that hazards are being properly controlled. It is not uncommon for HACCP plans and Food Safety Programs to be written by staffs that simply turn a blind eye to following them. And management erroneously think that there is compliance when there is really not.
Should you develop your own HACCP Plan or Food Safety Program, it might be prudent solicit the opinion of a technical expert in the field of food microbiology or food processing to ascertain that you have met every requirement for the production of safe foods as required by the Food Standards Code 3.2.1.
