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Approach1
The 1993 outbreak of food borne illness caused by the E. coli O157:H7 pathogen focused
the attention of the public, the Congress, and USDA on the fact that the common system
of meat and poultry inspection based on visible detection did not address the major cause
of food borne illness, which is invisible pathogens. Traditionally, industry and regulators
have depended on spot-checks of manufacturing conditions and random sampling of final
products to ensure safe food. This approach, however, tends to be reactive, rather than
preventive. New challenges to the U.S. food supply have prompted FDA to consider
adopting a new approach, called HACCP (pronounced has-sip). HACCP stands for
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a system of process control that was
developed jointly between Pillsbury and the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration to reduce the risk of microbial contamination during space travel, and has
been adopted in many industries.
2. Identify critical control points (CCPs). These are points in a food's production--
from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the
consumer--at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated.
Examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detection.
3. Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point.
Critical limits define the operating range of a CCP in which the process yields an
acceptable product. For a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the
minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any
harmful microbes.
HACCP is designed for use in all segments of the food industry from growing,
harvesting, processing, manufacturing, distributing, and merchandising to preparing food
for consumption. Food safety systems based on the HACCP principles have been
successfully applied in food processing plants, retail food stores, and food service
operations. The HACCP principles have been universally accepted by government
agencies, trade associations and the food industry around the world. HACCP offers a
number of advantages over the traditional system. Most importantly, HACCP: