Hazard analysis is the initial step of developing an effective HACCP program. A hazard is something that is dangerous. A food hazard is something that could make food unsafe or unfit to eat. It is important you can do identify those stages in your business when hazards could be present so they can be removed or reduced to safe levels. The intent is to prioritize the hazards, biological, chemical or physical & that must be monitored and controlled during the handling and production of the food products. The hazard analysis should follow all the steps described in the process flow-diagram and evaluate the each one for all potential food-safety hazards that may be introduced or augmented at each step. A properly conducted hazard analysis should consider all food safety hazards but should only have control measurements for those hazards that are ‘reasonably likely’ to occur.
In the other words, those that have a good chance of occurring during normal industry handling practices and that could cause an illness when the food is consumed – significant safety hazard. The hazard analysis should consider all factors related to the product from harvest to consumption but will concentrate on the steps where control could be applied, from receiving the raw ingredients until shipping the finished product. In the example, a series of hazards are identified based on experience, published illness data, regulatory requirements as well as scientific publications, but only few are considered as a significant safety hazard. Control measures are given for those significant safety hazards and a CCP will be defined for its control.
Hazard analysis is the approach which all companies, whatever their size, should use to identify the points in their manufacturing operations which critically affect their food product safety. Hazard analysis is the approach which all companies, whatever their size, should use to identify the points in their manufacturing operations which critically affect their food product safety. Foreign body hazard analysis of a food product process starts with the identification of the sequential stages in the process from raw materials and packaging materials through to the dispatch, distribution and end use of the food product. These can then be summarised in a flow diagram. Each stage of the process is then considered separately and number of questions are considered.
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