The FDA’s HACCP system regulates food safety from raw materials to final product, with specific procedures for dairy, seafood, juice, and food retail industries. Procedures cover everything from pasteurizing milk to handling raw foods and record keeping.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system oversees food safety levels from raw materials to final product. Procedures regulate everything from the care of freshly harvested crops to the storage of raw materials. There are different procedures for most processes, especially in the dairy, seafood and juice industries, as well as in the food retail service.
In the dairy industry, HACCP procedures outline the proper methods for pasteurizing milk, from maintaining the equipment to how to examine the milk for foreign bodies that could make it unsafe to drink. The procedures define everything from cleanliness of the milking shed to cow health in order to prevent contamination from external sources. Other guidelines indicate how to store milk to be kept fresh; all of these processes are intended to keep the milk and dairy products free from bacteria and infections.
Other types of HACCP procedures regulate the processes of the fishing industry. Some of the most important of these guidelines tell fishermen and fishing agencies which pathogens, metals and minerals should not be present in fish or the water in which fish are caught and how to test for them. Others regulate possible parasites and pesticides and even outline which of these can survive in raw and processed fish.
The juice industry is governed by HACCP procedures which tell farmers and producers the correct way to store and handle fruit and the most accurate way to label containers so consumers know how much real fruit is in each container . Determining whether or not you need to pasteurize a juice is also up to HACCP and the procedures will detail exactly how to do this. Governing everything from coconut milk and apple cider to orange juice, there are classifications of which fruits and fruit products can be treated equally.
Perhaps most familiar are the types of processes and procedures HACCP places in retail food service industries such as grocery stores and distributors. The handling of raw foods is particularly important and HACCP procedures detail how to store, freeze and handle foods such as chicken and other poultry, while minimizing the risk of contaminating other foods. Washing vegetables, herbs and fruit can be vital when they have been exposed to various pesticides and the steps involved in transferring cooked food between areas are also designed to keep the food fresh and free from bacteria.
HACCP procedures also extend to record keeping. Distributors and wholesalers are trained on how to keep records detailing how long food has been in storage and at what temperature it was held. Other industries keep training records to ensure that all employees have been made aware of these proper procedures. In addition, a company’s personal hazard analysis forms, any audits it has been subjected to and copies of the standards it must comply with are kept in the HACCP records.
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