HACCP Implementation Research Articles

HACCP effect on microbiological quality of minimally processed vegetables: a survey in six mass‐catering establishments

SummaryHazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) implementation effect in the microbiological quality of minimally processed vegetables was investigated, in mass‐catering establishments: two big hotels, two Universities and two major hospitals. Only one of each category had implemented HACCP and was purchasing vegetables produced with good agricultural practices (GAP). Samples from tomatoes in each food‐processing step; water, and personnel's hands were analysed microbiologically: totally, 240 tomatoes flora, 24 water and 60 personnel's hands samples. Tomatoes produced with GAP exhibited low microbial levels compared with conventional ones, while vegetable‐sanitation decreased microbial levels. Salads were safe in establishments applying HACCP methodology: Microbial‐level mean values (CFU g−1) of Escherichia coli was <20; total coliforms 3.67–3.88 log10; aerobic plate count 4.69–5.07 log10. The application of good manufacturing practices and good hygiene practices as parts of HACCP implementation, were found critical for the quality of the products. Based on actual results we present recommendations for a safer mass catering.

Implementation of HACCP system in China: A survey of food enterprises involved

The paper reports the results of the study on HACCP implementation in China based on analyzing the findings of a survey on 27 food enterprises involved. The results indicate that large- and medium-sized food enterprises dominate over the implementation of HACCP system in China. The product types produced by food enterprises in China that implement HACCP system are those with a hold in international market. China’s food enterprises take the implementation of HACCP system as a strategy to gain market competition advantage. The top incentives for China’s food enterprises implementing HACCP system are that HACCP system can provide them more chances to access to new markets, improve product quality and increase market share, showing that the major incentives of HACCP implementation in China are market-oriented.

Meta-analysis as a tool for barriers identification during haccp implementation to improve food safety

The objectives of the study were twofold, i.e. to evaluate methodological approaches of analyzed papers and to identify, cluster, and classify barriers to HACCP system implementation using meta-analysis as methodological tool. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a science-based system of risk management designed to control food safety. HACCP is based on seven basic principles, which present an important tool in combating food borne disease. Articles for analysis were initially selected in the major on-line database for the field, namely “Food Science and Technology Abstract”. Other databases were also used, including Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau and Co-operative Online Bibliographic System and Services. Selection was based on scientific excellence of the journal as well as on the method applied within the study. Main keywords to select appropriate scientific and technical articles were “HACCP”, “barrier” and “implementation”. Main results of methodological inquiry revealed that the m...

Sanitary/hygienic processing equipment design

Proper cleaning and effective sanitation is an essential component of processing poultry, as it contributes significantly to the prevention of product contamination with microorganisms that cause food-borne disease and spoilage. Rapid expansion of production volume, increased further-processing and introduction of diverse ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products, sophistication of the processing equipment, implementation of HACCP and microbial finished-product standards, and, more importantly, expensive product recalls have necessitated greater control over the cleaning and sanitation process.A sanitary process should effectively protect raw and/or cooked products from physical (i.e. metal, plastic, bone, packaging materials etc.), chemical (residues of cleaning and disinfection chemicals, lubricants, coolants etc.), and biological (food-borne pathogens and/or their toxins) hazards. In spite of this, many hazards continue to find their way into the processing environment and ultimately into the finished products. Microorganisms are naturally introduced into the poultry processing environments in high numbers with the live birds and, when the conditions are suitable, form growth niches by actively multiplying within the system.It is generally accepted that processing equipment should not be a direct or indirect source of microbial contamination. Many regulatory and advisory bodies have introduced hygienic design and processing guidelines. This presentation will review the recently introduced sanitary processing equipment design principles and equipment checklist by the American Meat Institute.A plant designed, equipped, operated and maintained with internationally accepted hygienic and sanitary standards will produce safe and wholesome poultry products for the consumer.

Pré-requisitos para implementação do sistema APPCC em uma linha de alface minimamente processada

SUMMARY REQUIREMENTS FOR HACCP SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION IN A MINIMALLY PROCESSED PLANT. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Sanitation Standard Procedures Operation (SSOP) are Pre-requisite Programs (PPRs) for the HACCP system implementation, being the initial step at the adoption of an Assurance Quality System in the Food Industry. A Brazilian produce line was evaluated according to PPRs compliance and microbiological analysis of processing water, equipments/utensils and workers of packing room were performed. Several failures were detected in the auditing and presence of pathogens and microbial groups at values from the Brazilian legislation (range from 16 MNP/100 mL and 7-2400 MPN/cm2 for total and fecal coliform at the water processing and equipments/utensils, respectively). S. aureus was not detected on the handlers, while E. coli was present on them and absent at the water processing. The results indicate the produce unit do not have conditions for the HACCP implementation, being necessary corrective actions to improve the safety of environmental processing, like pest control, food hygiene training and an effective control

Costs and Benefits of HACCP Implementation in the Greek Meat Industry

Water supply in rural and urban areas is an issue of primary concern, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study is to estimate some socioeconomic and environmental values of three irrigation lakes, constructed at Panagitsa village (Region of Central Macedonia, Prefecture of Pella). The study area is characterized, especially during the summer session, of limited water supply for irrigation purposes. Although the majority of Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) studies have been restricted to environmental goods, this method can applied to public goods in general. It is assumed that the consumers’ satisfaction of water supply service, their opinions about the water management system and its affordability might have an impact on their Willingness to Pay (WTP).Various outputs were defined and each one’s economic value was estimated. Water supply, recreation, health effects, social impact, environmental consequences and some more outputs were valued through the CVM. These values can assist managers and policy makers in making decisions regarding the opportunity cost of the irrigation projects, their management options and the project’s alterations or preservations. These values of the irrigation projects’ outputs are estimated under the assumption that all other wetlands or water resources in the region remain unchanged.

Costs and investments of implementing and maintaining HACCP in a pasteurized milk plant

Results of an economic study associated with the implementation and maintenance of HACCP in a pasteurized milk plant are presented. The GMP/SSOP pre-requisites were evaluated in the plant. Two HACCP plans were proposed: a first plan was developed under the actual operating conditions, without previous compliance of GMP/SSOP pre-requisites, and a second plan was developed considering compliance of GMP/SSOP. The cost estimation for implementation and maintenance of HACCP, with or without previous adoption of the pre-requisite programs, was performed and a comparative analysis of the estimated values was carried out. The results suggest that a previous compliance of GMP/SSOP pre-requisites is essential for developing an effective HACCP plan with a small number of critical control points, leading to lower costs and investments for implementation and maintenance of HACCP.

HACCP Performance of Employees in School Foodservice Operations and the Related Variables

The purpose of this study was to assess current food-handling practices of employees in school foodservice settings, as well as their knowledge levels, and identify relationships between knowledge, practices, and influencing variables. The survey was conducted for dietitians and employees in the school foodservice industry in Gyeongsangbuk-do province. A total of 270 and 570 questionnaires for dietitians and employees, respectively, were distributed by mail. Response rates were 62% (N=171) and 66% (N=376) from dietitians and employees, respectively. Data was analyzed using SPSS Windows (version 10.0). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data. Pearson correlations were applied to test for relationships between knowledge and practice of HACCP principles. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to examine the influence of knowledge, current education guidelines, demographic information (working experience, academic background, and certification for food and cooking), and school characteristics (food production system, service style, and number of meals). School foodservice employees were found to have a significant amount of food safety knowledge (67.5±1.8 out of 100 possible points). Proper food handling practices were not always being followed in many schools. The relationship between their knowledge, current HACCP education training, and food handling practices was not significant. These results suggested the present situation of HACCP trainings performed by dietitians were inadequate for many school foodservice operations. The number of meals in school was an independent predictor of the employees’ food-handling practices. These results suggest that an effective education program should integrate endeavors that take account of social and environmental influences on food safety to support the improvement of food-handling practices and the implementation of a HACCP program. Furthermore, dietitians should continue to provide consulting, training, and technical assistance to schools on HACCP implementation.

Difficulties and barriers for the implementing of HACCP and food safety systems in food businesses in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine barriers for HACCP and food safety programs in food businesses in Turkey. A lack of understanding of HACCP was identified as one of the main barriers to its implementation 63.5% reported that they did not really know what HACCP was while 23.5% reported that it was too complicated. Only 33.0% of managers said they had a food safety management system. About 31% of the employees in food businesses had received basic food hygiene training. The majority of managers (91.3%) identified improved customer confidence as a benefit of implementing a food safety management system. Lack of prerequisite programs (92.2%) was the key barrier identified for all food businesses. While lack of knowledge about HACCP (83.5%), lack of time (88.7%), staff turnover (80.9%), lack of employee motivation (83.5%), complicated terminology (87.0%) and lack of personnel training (91.3) was the other most common barriers in food businesses. As a conclusion, lack of knowledge about HACCP and other food safety programs were identified as the main barriers for food safety in food businesses. Lack of prerequisite programs and inadequate physical condition of the facility were also identified as other barriers. Training programs, both basic food safety and HACCP to support implementation of prerequisite programs and HACCP in food businesses were suggested.

Post‐training assessment of HACCP knowledge: its use as a predictor of effective HACCP development, implementation and maintenance in food manufacturing

PurposeHACCP training is acknowledged as a key requirement for the development of effective HACCP systems. However, there are few measures of the standards of training being offered or of the effectiveness of learning that takes place and no agreed methods to measure HACCP knowledge following training. Sets out to investigate this issue.Design/methodology/approachA HACCP knowledge questionnaire was developed to measure HACCP team member knowledge following training. Data were collected from 91 individuals in a multinational organisation and predictions were made on likely effectiveness of HACCP systems based on team‐member knowledge.FindingsThis paper outlines the preliminary results from a research project investigating the impact of training on effective HACCP implementation in a multinational organisation.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations concerning sample size, timing and possible lack of understanding are discussed.Originality/valueA new tool to measure HACCP team member knowledge is described and use of HACCP knowledge as a predictor of HACCP system effectiveness is discussed.

Effect of the Implementation of HACCP on the Microbiological Quality of Meals at a University Restaurant

A study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality, including total mesophilic counts and markers of bacteriological hygiene, as indicator of food safety of three categories of the most consumed meals in a university restaurant, before and after implementation of the HACCP system and personnel training. Cold gastronomy products, cooked warm-served products, and cooked cold-served products were tested for bacterial contamination. Throughout the experiment, 894 samples were examined for total counts of aerobic bacteria, counts of indicator organisms (coliform organisms and Escherichia coli) and pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes). Implementation of the HACCP system, together with training in personnel hygiene, good manufacturing practices, and cleaning and sanitation procedures, resulted in lower aerobic plate counts and a lower incidence of S. aureus, coliform organisms, E. coli, and B. cereus, whereas Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not found in all samples studied. The microbial results of this study demonstrate that personnel training together with HACCP application contributed to improve the food safety of meals served in the restaurant studied.

An evaluation of HACCP implementation status in UK small and medium enterprises in food manufacturing

To reduce foodborne illnesses, hazard and risk-based quality management systems are essential. Small and medium sized companies (SMEs) tend to have a poor understanding of such systems and limited adoption of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system (HACCP). The requirement for full HACCP implementation by 2006 will place an even greater burden on these businesses. The aim of this project is to assess the current levels of understanding of hazards and risks in SMEs in the manufacturing sector. A questionnaire survey was made of 850 SMEs, including microbusinesses. This determined the industry sector and processes carried out, whether the company operated hazard-based quality management and the knowledge of the technical manager regarding the associated hazards and risks. Follow-up visits to the manufacturing plant observed the processes and the operatives to determine their level of understanding. A benchmarking audit was carried out and each company was rated. The results show that the majority of respondents stated that they operated hazard analysis-based quality management. The ability of the respondents to correctly define a hazard or risk or identify different types of hazard was, however, poor. There was no correlation between business type and audit score. The microbusinesses did, however, perform significantly less well than the larger SMEs.

HACCP 적용에 필요한 시설 . 설비 . 문서의 위탁급식소 구비 실태에 관한 조사

HACCP 적용에 필요한 시설 . 설비 . 문서의 위탁급식소 구비 실태에 관한 조사

Cost–benefit analysis of HACCP implementation in the Mexican meat industry

This paper reports the levels of HACCP implementation, costs of implementation and operation, and benefits of implementation for the Mexican meat industry. One hundred and sixty Federal Inspection Type (TIF) enterprises were surveyed, with a 58% response rate. Only 18% of the TIF enterprises interviewed had totally adopted HACCP, while 20% did not have an interest in adoption. The norm of ISO 9000 appeared to be an intermediate step in HACCP implementation. The results show that investment in new equipment and microbiological tests of products accounted for most of the implementation and operational costs, respectively. The main benefit reported was reduction in microbial counts, while staff training was reported as a significant problem. The study shows that although the level of total HACCP implementation is not high, HACCP has implications for both the domestic and international markets.

Cost?benefit analysis of HACCP implementation in the Mexican meat industry

This paper reports the levels of HACCP implementation, costs of implementation and operation, and benefits of implementation for the Mexican meat industry. One hundred and sixty Federal Inspection Type (TIF) enterprises were surveyed, with a 58% response rate. Only 18% of the TIF enterprises interviewed had totally adopted HACCP, while 20% did not have an interest in adoption. The norm of ISO 9000 appeared to be an intermediate step in HACCP implementation. The results show that investment in new equipment and microbiological tests of products accounted for most of the implementation and operational costs, respectively. The main benefit reported was reduction in microbial counts, while staff training was reported as a significant problem. The study shows that although the level of total HACCP implementation is not high, HACCP has implications for both the domestic and international markets.

HACCP Implementation in Fisheries Industry: Experiences of Thailand

HACCP Implementation in Fisheries Industry: Experiences of Thailand

Recovery of heat-stressed E. coli O157:H7 from ground beef and survival of E. coli O157:H7 in refrigerated and frozen ground beef and in fermented sausage kept at 7°C and 22°C

A study was undertaken to obtain information on survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef subjected to heat treatment, refrigeration and freezing and on survival of E. coli O157:H7 in fermented sausage kept at 7°C and 22°C. For the challenge test, a mixture of E. coli O157:H7 strains (EH 321, EH 385, EH 302) was used and enumeration was performed on an isolation medium suitable for recovery of stressed organisms: modified Levine's eosin methylene blue agar (mEMB). Heat resistance of E. coli O157:H7 decreased after pre-incubation at a reduced temperature.Escherichia coli O157:H7 was more susceptible to heat inactivation after storage at 7°C and die-off was even more enhanced if cultures were frozen prior to heat inactivation. The enhanced reduction of the pathogen at 56°C after prior storage under refrigeration was confirmed in a test with inoculated ground beef.Escherichia coli O157:H7 was able to survive in ground beef at 7°C for 11 days and at −18°C for 35 days showing maximal one log reduction during the storage period. Thus, ground beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 will remain a hazard even if the ground beef is held at low or freezing temperatures. At both 7°C and 22°C, a gradual reduction of E. coli O157:H7 was noticed in fermented sausage over the 35 days storage period resulting in a 2 log decrease of the high inoculum (106cfu 25 g−1). For the low inoculum (103cfu 25 g−1) a 2·5 log reduction was obtained in 7 and 28 days storage at respectively 22 and 7°C. Application of good hygienic practices and implementation of HACCP in the beef industry are important tools in the control of E. coli O157:H7.

Pre-requisites: a help or a hindrance to HACCP?

Formal pre-requisite programmes are increasingly and successfully used to support the implementation of HACCP in food processing. However, in many areas there is a lack of understanding of the pre-requisites concept, and even a fear in some sectors that pre-requisites might dilute the strength of HACCP, making it a less effective food safety control mechanism. This paper explores the concept of pre-requisite programmes and discusses whether they are of benefit to the HACCP approach or whether food safety is best managed through the HACCP plan alone, concluding that they are an essential element in the task of developing simple, effective HACCP systems

HACCP in small companies: benefit or burden?

This paper acknowledges the importance of small companies across the food chain and identifies the slow uptake of HACCP in these companies as an area of concern for the production of safe food. This sets the scene for an analysis of the barriers to HACCP implementation which include availability of appropriate training in HACCP methodology, access to technical expertise and the general resource problems of time and money. The burden that this places on the small business, particularly in terms of documentation, validation and verification, are then discussed. The paper concludes with a summary of the burdens and benefits that this sector faces as it moves towards compliance with food safety legislation.

Exploring Incentives for the Adoption of Food Safety Controls: HACCP Implementation in the U.K. Dairy Sector

This article explores the incentives that motivate the adoption of food safety controls by businesses through a study of HACCP adoption in the U.K. dairy processing sector. The study identifies four key factors that have motivated the adoption of HACCP, namely, internal efficiency, commercial pressure, external requirements, and good practice. Respondents to the survey are clustered according to the relative importance of these factors in their adoption decision. Four clusters are identified and related to the characteristics of firms, including firm size and type of products manufactured. The results indicate that there are systematic differences in the HACCP adoption process between individual firms.