Getting Started With Your HACCP Documentation

As you start thinking about creating your HACCP plan, you should keep in mind that you don’t need to have a separate plan for every product. You may write a single plan for a group of products as long as they are similar enough. For example, if you are making sausage with different flavors then you could have just one HACCP plan for all sausages. A different HACCP plan will only be needed if the flavor addition and process introduce new hazards that are not addressed in the general plan.

The first few steps in documenting your HACCP is really an information-gathering process to prepare you for the major task of analysing your hazards. Hazard analysis is the first principle of HACCP and is critical in creating a functioning HACCP program that addresses all potential hazards. I will address hazard analysis in another lesson. There are four essential information-gathering steps that you will need to take before conducting hazard analysis. First of all, you will need to describe the product, secondly, you must create an ingredient list, thirdly, you must create a process flow diagram and fourthly, you must verify the flow diagram.

Describe the Product

The product description activity will help you to better understand what the product is, its nature, how it will be used, and potential associated hazards. Look at it as an introduction to the product. The product description can be documented using the product description form. It is a simple form that gives a general summary of the product. The form should essentially answer the following questions:

1. What name will the customer call the product? e.g. Vanilla ice cream; strawberry yogurt; frozen chicken thighs
2. What is the nature of the product? In other words, what type of food safety characteristic does it have that would help to lower food safety risks? e.g. water activity (aw), pH, brix, salt concentration, presence of preservative, how it is processed (canned, vacuum packed, dehydrated etc). State “no protective characteristics” if no food safety protective characteristic exist
3. How will the product be packaged? e.g. “Half-liter glass jars with crown cap. Labels are self-adhesive and applied prior to filling. Code date is printed via coding equipment after capping.”
4. How will the product be used? e.g. Ready-to-eat, heat-and-serve, prepare and bake, reconstitute
5. What is the shelf life? i.e. How long will the product last when kept in the required storage condition?
6. Where will the product be sold? e.g. retail, wholesale, directly to public, restaurants, institutions (hotels/hospitals/senior living homes), for further processing
7. Are there any special label instructions/information for safe use? e.g. “Contains soy” (or other allergen), “keep refrigerated”, “refrigerate after opening”, state cooking temperature, state best before date, include irradiation symbol
8. Are there any special storage, handling and distribution control required? e.g. “Distributed in refrigerated trucks”

Introduction to HACCP eBook

Create an Ingredient List

Now, list all the ingredients and packaging materials to be used in the process. Itemizing these will help you to spot all the associated biological, chemical and physical hazards that may enter the plant as a result of these materials.

Create a Flow Diagram

How you process food will have a direct impact on the hazards that are introduced and those that are allowed to grow. Therefore you should be familiar with each step in your operation, and the associated hazards. Use this knowledge to create a diagram showing each step in the process. Do not include engineering drawings. A summary of the process steps with connecting arrows will work just fine. Several tools including Word and Excel will help you to get this done.

Verify the Flow Diagram

OK, you have a flow diagram! There is one more step. You must verify that the flow diagram represents what is actually being done. The draft of the flow diagram may be completed in a single meeting with the HACCP team, but if members of the team are out of touch with what is really happening on the ground, the flow will be inaccurate and cannot be used as a basis to develop the HACCP plan. Therefore you must get onto the plant floor to actually observe each step and verify that what you have on paper is what is really happening. Based on your observations, make adjustments to the flow. Otherwise you may also have to make changes to the process where you see it is not being done the right way.

Reference: Scott, V. N. & Stevenson, K. E. (2006). HACCP – A systematic approach to food safety, 4th edition. Washington, DC: Grocery Manufacturers Association.