History and Background to HACCP

History and background of HACCP is more interesting that one might think it is. Indeed, HACCP is not new food safety system. It has been used in the food manufacturing industry since the 1960s and is widely accepted as the most effective way of preventing foodborne illness. It was conceived in the 1960s, and it was a collaborated effort between the Pillsbury Company, NASA, and the U.S. Army Laboratories with the objective to provide safe food for space expeditions.

 

What is Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety. As a matter of fact, it considers biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. As a result, HACCP designs measures to reduce food risks to a safe level.

 

Short History and Background to HACCP

Space food is a type of food product created and processed for consumption by astronauts in outer space. The food has specific requirements of providing balanced nutrition for individuals working in space. At the same time, it has to be easy and safe to store, prepare and consume in the machinery-filled weightless environments of manned spacecraft.

It is never good to contract food poisoning. Not to mention getting sick in space!

Since then, HACCP has been recognized internationally as a logical tool for adapting traditional inspection methods to a modern, science-based, food safety system. Based on risk-assessment, HACCP plans allow both industry and government to allocate their resources efficiently by establishing and auditing safe food production practices.

 

Application of HACCP

HACCP has been increasingly applied to industries other than food, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This method, which in effect seeks to plan out unsafe practices based on science, differs from traditional “produce and sort” quality control methods that do nothing to prevent hazards from occurring and must identify them at the end of the process. Of course, HACCP is focused only on the health safety issues of a product and not the quality of the product, yet HACCP principles are the basis of most food quality and safety assurance systems.

For most of us, term HACCP sounds scary and confusing, ‘What does this all mean?’ we often wonder. In simple terms, HACCP involves controlling the safety of ingredients and supplies coming into food business and what is done with them thereafter.

HACCP involves:

• Identifying what can go wrong.
• Planning to prevent it.
• Making sure we are doing it!

 

Benefits of HACCP

HACCP provides businesses with a cost effective system for control of food safety from ingredients through production, storage and distribution to sale and service to the final consumer. The preventive approach of HACCP not only improves food safety management but also complements other quality management systems.

The main benefits of HACCP are:

• Saves your business money in the long run.
• Avoids you poisoning your customers.
• Food safety standards increase.
• Ensures you are compliant with the law.
• Food quality standards increase.
• Organises your process to produce safe food.
• Organises your staff promoting teamwork and efficiency.
• Due diligence defence in court.

Since April 1998, food businesses in Ireland have been required by law to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP.

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Storing Food After Delivery

Storing food after delivery is very important when food safety is considered and the food should be stored as quickly as it can be put away. For instance, in a previous eLearn Safety blog post Receiving Food Delivery from 19th January 2024 we talked about the importance of proper and planned handling of food deliveries. Most importantly, it is very important to note that once the food is accepted from delivery operators it should be unpacked from the outside packaging before storage. In addition, frozen foods should always be stored first. It is extremely important to remember that raw meat and ready-to-eat foods should be handled and stored separately. All food handling staff should be competent and trained in safe food handling. An easy and convenient way to achieve this is by taking one of eLearn Safety fully online Food Safety courses.

 

Plan for Storing Food After Delivery

Never tightly pack food in storage areas. For instance, food should always be kept at least 15cm above the floor and at least 5cm away from the walls. This is because it will make cleaning and pest inspections easier.

In addition, keep records of all food temperatures. If you observe high temperatures, report this immediately to the Supervisor/Manager. This can be the result of a delay in storing food, allowing it to warm up to room temperature. Such delays can be avoided by having allocated time slots for staff to store food correctly.

 

Contamination is Dangerous

Food contamination is very dangerous! You must remember to:

• Keep raw meats in a separate refrigerator or on the bottom shelf. This is to avoid contaminating anything below.
• Clean soil from vegetables before storage as soil can contain dangerous bacteria.
• Check all seals of fridge and freezer doors are working properly and are clean. Fridges and freezers should be checked every day and detailed, stringent temperature records maintained. If you are using a walk-in freezer – always make sure that the door is closed properly behind you.

 

Stock Rotation

Stock rotation is important when we talk about storing food after delivery. Therefore, you should always practice a FIFO system (First In First Out). In addition, you should label each item so that anyone who would check for these items knows when it was delivered and its shelf life. For instance, never sell food that has passed its Use-By date and make sure that all the correct storage requirements are followed.

For additional information about Use-By and Best-Before dates please check eLearn Safety blog entry Shelf-life of Food Products from 10th March 2023. In addition, you might find some very useful information on Teagasc website and their page Shelf Life of Food Products from 9th January 2022.

 

Basic Storage Rules

Always remember to:

• Store all frozen food at below -18°.
• Store all fresh food at below 5°.
• Store dry goods quickly.
• Keep fridge and/or freezer doors open for the shortest time possible.
• Immediately report a fridge or freezer malfunction. A breakdown can be an expensive and serious food safety hazard.

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Spores and Toxins in Food

Spores and toxins in food can be a cause of a serious food poisoning. Spores are a bacteria’s survival package. Some bacteria when faced with adverse conditions such as rising temperatures will form a survival spore. A spore has a protective shell which can withstand higher temperatures than those reached in cooking.

 

Spores in Food

Water boils at 100°C. This means that most of cooking will be only a little hotter. However, spores can survive temperatures of up to 120°C. When the heat returns to room temperature, the spore opens.  Once this happens, the bacteria starts growing to form another colony. This is why hot holding at temperatures above 63°C prevents spores become active, whereas rapid cooling does not give a chance to spores to open.

Two common spore-forming bacteria are Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus. Some foods such as red kidney beans simply need to be cooked to break down the toxins and render them harmless.

 

Toxins in Food

Some toxins are produced by careless defrosting food (e.g. scombrotoxin). Toxins are poisons that are produced by bacteria and plants. Toxins can be deadly, such as that produced by Clostridium botulinum. The verocytotoxin produced by E. coli and its relatives causes damages to kidneys and the intestine. This may result in death, especially in the elderly and the very young. Seafood can also contain dangerous toxins. One of these toxins can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Paralytic shellfish poisoning as the name suggests, causes paralysis. Shellfish such as mussels feed on smaller animals that produce this toxin. In large groups these animals can be seen as a red bloom known as ‘red tide’. There are monitoring systems such as satellite images, that warn where and when shellfish must not be harvested.

 

Spores and Toxins in Plants

Plants can contain toxins. Some toxins are produced by moulds. These toxins include aflatoxin, which can seriously harm the liver. Such toxins are found in cereals and dried fruits that have been poorly stored. All these examples demonstrate the importance of always obtaining quality food from reputable suppliers.

 

Preventing Food Poisoning

• There are 4 simple steps to prevent food poisoning. As SafeFood writes in their article Food poisoning: causes, symptoms and treatment, steps you can take to prevent food poisoning are:
  Clean – always wash your hands before and after handling and eating food, after visiting the toilet or playing with pets or animals.
  Cook – make sure that food is thoroughly cooked in order to destroy any harmful bacteria that might be present.
  Chill – keep food cool in order to prevent bad bacteria from growing; make sure that your fridge is at the correct temperature to keep cold foods chilled – aim to keep your fridge at 5°C or below.
  Prevent cross-contamination – separate raw and cooked foods during storage and cooking and never let raw food, for example raw meat, come into contact with food that is ready-to-eat.

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Food Storage and Deliveries

Proper food storage and deliveries play an important role in ensuring that the food remains safe to eat. Existing food businesses which intend to start delivering food orders need to consider any new or different risks posed by this change in operation. They should adapt their Food Safety Management System to make sure food placed on the market remains safe to eat. Businesses that already deliver food, directly to the customer or to another business, must ensure uninterrupted safe food handling practices.

 

Food Deliveries

It is important that food is purchased from reliable suppliers. ‘Due diligence‘ demands that care be taken on purchase handover. When food is delivered, a person responsible for the receipt of the food should check:

• Quality of the food.
• Evidence of damage by pets.
• Evidence of damage due to food spoilage.
• Evidence of contamination.
• That the items are well within the date.
• refrigerated or frozen foods are at the correct temperature.

Always and without any doubt reject any food that you are not happy with and return it to the supplier! Always make sure that the transfer time after purchase of frozen or chilled foods is as short as possible, preferably in cool bags or boxes and that the food is stored in the refrigerator or freezer in the shortest possible time. Remember:

• Frozen food deliveries must be kept at –18°C or below.
• Refrigerated food deliveries must be kept between 0°C and 5°C.
• Hot food deliveries must be kept at 63°C or above.

 

Food Storage and Deliveries – Spoilage

Food is spoiled when it is unfit for human consumption. The main causes of food spoilage are usually the following:

• Microbial and enzyme activity – this can adversely change a food’s colour, taste, smell, appearance or texture, e.g. moulds and yeasts.
• Chemical contamination – food has come into contact with substances not intended for human consumption, e.g. cleaning chemicals or insect sprays.
• Physical contamination – undesirable foreign objects have contaminated food, e.g. human hair or food pests.
• When food is spoiled, always label it ‘Unable for Human Consumption‘ and store it in a designated area away from other food.

 

‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’ Dates

Most food packages are labelled with a ‘Use By‘ or ‘Best Before‘ date. It is an offence to serve food that has exceeded its use by date. Such food should be discarded or clearly marked ‘Unfit for Human Consumption‘. ‘Best Before‘ dates are often an indication that the food will be at its premium quality if stored correctly until that date.

 

Dry Stores

Not all food must be kept refrigerated or heated. Some food can be kept in dry stores. However, many dried or dehydrated foods such as milk powder, powdered eggs, etc. will allow bacterial growth if they become moist. It is therefore essential these foods are stored in a dry place and are used immediately after preparation. All dry foods, including flour, biscuits, etc., will remain safe whilst dry.

Dry stores key points:

1. Storage areas must be well lit, clean, cool, dry and well ventilated.
2. Free-standing slatted shelves allow good ventilation and evidence of pest infestation to be seen quickly.
3. Food should be stored off the floor to allow thorough cleaning.
4. Good stock rotation will prevent build up of old stocks and will reveal evidence of pest infestation quickly.

 

Stock Rotation

All food should be stored in date order and the First In First Out (FIFO) rule followed and observed. To help with stock rotation:

• Check ‘Use By‘ and ‘Best Before‘ dates regularly.
• Put products with a shorter shelf life at the front of the shelf at the front of the shelf so they are used first.
• Clear away any out of date stock.

 

Other Food Storage and Deliveries Hazards

There are other food safety hazard points associated with food delivery and storage. Safefood lists a number of additional hazards that are associated with the food storage and deliveries. These can be read in their Food Delivery & Storage article.

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

 

Shelf-life of Food Products

Shelf-life of food products is the period of time during which a food product maintains its acceptable or desirable characteristics under specified storage and handling conditions. These acceptable or desirable characteristics can be related to the safety or quality of the product. They can be microbiological, chemical or physical in nature.

Regulation (EU) No.1169/2011 requires that the shelf-life of a foodstuff be indicated by either a date of minimum durability “Best-before” or a “Use-by-date”.

Most food packages are labelled with a Best-before or Use-by-date. It is a legal offence to serve food that has exceeded its “Use-by-date”. Such food should be discarded and clearly marked ‘unfit for human consumption’.

 

Shelf-life of Food Products – Best-before

The “Best-before” date refers to quality. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. For example, its flavour and texture might not be as good. The date of minimum durability, or “Best-before” date, is the date until which a foodstuff retains its specific properties e.g. taste, aroma, appearance, any specific qualities which relate to the product, vitamin content etc. when the product has been stored appropriately and the package unopened.

Typically, a shelf-life of food products marked “Best-before” date is used for food products such as canned, dried, ambient, frozen foods etc. Many foods that are past their “Best-before” date may be safe to eat, but their quality may have deteriorated.

 

Shelf-life of Food Products – Use-by-date

The “Use-by-date” on food is about safety. Foods can be eaten until this date but not after, even if they look and smell fine. The “Use-by-date” is the date up until which a food may be used safely i.e. consumed, cooked or processed, once it has been stored correctly. After the “Use-by-date” date, food is deemed unsafe and can be danger to human health. The food cannot be sold or served past its “Use-by-date” date.

 

Food Labelling

Proper food labelling can prevent food poisoning, ensure food safety and prevent food wastage. The European Commission estimates that up to 10% of the 88 million tonnes of food waste generated annually in the EU is linked to date marking on food products.

It is the responsibility of a food business to ensure that the food provided to customers is safe to consume. In order to do this, proper food safety protocols must always be adhered to and followed. This includes ensuring that food is not spoiled or expired. “Best-before” dates, packaging dates and “Use-by-date” (expiry dates) are key to knowing what foods are safe to prepare and serve, and which ones should be disposed of. Different types of date markings on packages are used depending on the product.

The “Best-before” or “Use-by-date” dates for a specific shelf-life of food products is decided by the food manufacturer or producer when developing their food safety management system, based on HACCP principles, for the product.

 

Safe Handling and Storage of Food

Food businesses must ensure that all food received and stored in the food business is checked for “Best-before” and “Use-by-date” dates. It is essential that food is not only handled and stored properly, but also used within the proper time frame. Food should be stored using the First In, First Out (FIFO) method.

Satisfactory rotation of stock is essential to ensure older food is used first, to avoid spoilage and to ensure food is safe.

High-risk and perishable foods have a short shelf life. They are usually stored under refrigeration and have “Use-by-date”. It is unsafe and illegal to alter this date or sell the food after this date.

Low-risk food, which does not support the growth of bacteria is given a “Best-before” date. The food is at its best quality  and/or condition uo to this date. It is, however, not illegal for it to be sold after this date.

“Use-by-date” should be checked daily whereas weekly checks may suffice for products with “Best-before” dates.

Out of date stock should be disposed of.

All food handlers in a food business should be checking “Best-before” and “Use-by-date” dates on a regular basis. Food safety training is the best way to ensure that all food handlers are able to understand their duties under Irish food safety legislation as well as to follow best food safety practice guidelines.

 

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie