Ensuring Safe Food — A HACCP-Based Plan for Ensuring Food Safety in Retail Establishments

Bulletin 901

Appendix 1 — Test and Evaluation Forms

1. What does the acronym HACCP stand for?

2. Which of the following statement(s) is/are true?
_____ HACCP is intended for food safety only.
_____ HACCP is intended for food safety and high quality.
_____ HACCP is intended for food safety, high quality, and nutrition.

3. Principle 1 Conduct a Hazard Analysis.
State what the principle is and give its regulation definition.

• States: Conduct a hazard analysis. Prepare a list of steps in the process where significant hazards occur and describe the preventative measures.
• The regulation defines a food safety hazard as "any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption."

4. Principle 2 Critical Control Points.
State what the principle is and give its regulation definition.

• States: Identify the Critical Control Points (CCP) in the process.
• A Critical Control Point (CCP) is defined as "a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be applied and, as a result, a food-safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels."

5. Principle 3 Establish Critical Limits for Each Critical Control Point.
State what the principle is and give its regulation definition.

• States: Establish critical limits for preventative measures associated with each identified CCP.
• The regulation defines critical limit as "the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical hazard must be controlled at a Critical Control Point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of the identified food safety hazard."

6. Principle 4 Establish Monitoring Procedures.
State what the principle is and give its regulation definition.

• States: Establish CCP monitoring requirements. Establish procedures for using the results of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain control.
• Monitoring is a planned sequence of observations or measurements to assess whether a CCP is under control and to produce an accurate record for future use in verification.

7. Principle 5 Establish Corrective Actions.
State what the principle is and give its regulation definition.

• States: Establish corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a deviation from an established critical limit.
• The regulation defines corrective action as "procedures to be followed when a deviation occurs." A deviation is a failure to meet a critical limit.

8. Principle 6 Establish Verification Procedures.
State what the principle is and what it entails.

• States: "Establish procedures to verify that the HACCP system is working correctly."
• Simply stated, the HACCP team needs to verify that the HACCP system is working the way it is expected to work.

9. Principle 7 Establish Record-Keeping Procedures.
State what the principle is and what the records should include.

• States: "Establish effective record-keeping procedures that document the HACCP systems."
  
  1. SSOP Records and employee training
  2. HACCP Plan and reassessments
  3. Operating records of Critical Limits

10. What are three categories of hazards?

11. Why do you think the government agencies (FDA and USDA) are emphasizing HACCP?

• Since it is Retail Grocery's responsibility to provide a safe food of acceptable quality, it should be Retail Grocery's prerogative to design and implement the means by which such responsibility can be met to the satisfaction of regulatory agencies and, more broadly, the consuming public.
• The HACCP system is a logical, scientific approach to controlling safety problems in food production.

12. Is the United States the only country using HACCP?

13. Why are the prerequisite programs necessary for a good HACCP program? The prerequisite programs provide:

• Guidelines in the areas of Personnel, Buildings and Facilities, Equipment and Utensils, and Production and Process Control to provide a safe practice for manufacturing, packing, or holding food for human consumption.
• Written procedures for cleaning the equipment.
• Clear identification of the product and the process for which the HACCP is designed.
• Minimization of Critical Control Points.

14. What are the requirements of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP)?

• A written document describing daily sanitation procedures that the plant will conduct before and during operations to prevent direct contamination or adulteration of product(s).
• A statement of the procedures the plant will conduct prior to the start of operations. At a minimum, these procedures must address the cleaning of food contact surfaces, equipment, and utensils.
• A statement of the frequency at which each procedure will be performed.
• A statement identifying the individuals who will be responsible for implementing daily sanitation activities.
• An established form that an official with overall authority on-site, or higher, is required to sign and date.

15. What are the four parts that must be addressed in Principle 5 Establish Corrective Actions.

1. Determine that the CCP is once again under control.
2. Determine the disposition of any product that is in noncompliance.
3. Correct the cause of the noncompliance to prevent a recurrence.
4. Maintain records of the corrective actions.

16. Name and describe the three parts of Principle 6 Establish Verification Procedures.

1. Validation The regulation defines validation as "the scientific and technical process for determining that the CCP and associated critical limits are adequate and sufficient to control likely hazards."
2. Verification The emphasis in this section is compliance and not adequacy. Say What You Do and Do What You Say.
3. Reassessments Review the HACCP plan for accuracy whenever there are changes and at least annually.

Chapter 10 | Appendix 2 | Table of Contents