The act of eating is intertwined with our existence, precisely because there is no way to have life without food that provides us with nutrients, vitamins, among other compounds that will provide conditions for our development as a whole.
Therefore, we must be very clear that food production plays a fundamental role in maintaining something extremely important, which is our LIFE, which is why industries that process, process and preserve food products need to constantly analyze, review, and change (when necessary) its processes and thus meet the concept of:
- Quality, which involves standards, specifications and expectations defined for the product, such as its color, flavor, odor, texture, size, filling percentage, etc.;
- Safety, generating food free from physical, chemical, microbiological contaminants, cross-contamination by allergens (intentional or not);
- Legality, following legal requirements as established by the country of destination of the final product. In Brazil we have ANVISA and MAPA, which have RDCs, various Ordinances to be followed and which also guarantee the aspects mentioned above;
- Authenticity, guaranteeing authentic products with what is proposed, for example, if it declares to be light, diet, organic, there must be mechanisms that guarantee said labeling and its characteristics that define them, which could be considered Fraud, if a constant “deviation” is evidenced.” in that point.
Steps to Implement HACCP
And when we approach the topic of food safety, the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)/HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) program, based on the Codex Alimentarius, is of great importance, as it will lead us to an in-depth vulnerability analysis, and consequently the development of preventive actions that will shield the finished products and consequently the company's brand, as well as corrective actions, because if there is a non-conformity effected, there will be a greater speed in resolution of the problem. And in order to implement or evaluate a HACCP program, companies must follow the following steps, which I make relevant considerations in each:
- Team Formation (the Codex Alimentarius does not limit the number of employees to make up the team, but something very important is to have operational employees on the team (factory floor) and who often end up not being included, as these are professionals that hold important information that is very relevant to the production process);
- Product Description (many websites provide a filling form that has all the main items for product description, however, the vast majority of companies really just fill them in, and in fact, the real purpose of this item is to delve deeper regarding the characteristics of the products, for example, products that have a high value for water activity (aW) and/or pH varying between neutral, are products that have an excellent capacity for the development of microorganisms, therefore, what will be the technologies to be used to establish quality and consumer-safe products? Use of high temperatures (cooking, pasteurization, sterilization, etc.), modified atmosphere (vacuum or application of phases such as Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen);
- Identification of Intent to Use (what was the product created for? This question makes it easier to define and identify the intended use, as well as the target audience, vulnerable audiences (for example, those allergic to a certain compound present in its formulation). We cannot forget It is also very important to raise unintended use, with the tip of answering again what the product was developed for, and remembering the example of instant noodles, which were originally created to be consumed after cooking, and that unintended use took on large proportions becoming very present in the taste of customers, which is to eat raw, and because of this, companies had to review their processes, as there is no longer an important step of reducing or eliminating microorganisms on customers' hands;
- Construction of the Process Flowchart (be careful not to miss any stage of the process, which includes inputs (steam, water, packaging, etc.) and outputs (reprocessing, disposal, etc.) and identify the PCCs in said flowchart);
- On-site confirmation of the Flowchart (very important, and must be very well thought out, as it is a guarantee that nothing has been forgotten, or that there are no divergences in the production process between shifts that could cause different dangerous conditions, as a tip, confirm the flowchart in all existing production shifts, on more than one day, with different team members);
- List of all potential hazards Conducting Hazard Analysis, considering Control Measures (based survey of all hazards existing in the production process, as well as their respective risks (probability and severity), with the caveat that we must take be careful not to evaluate all the dangers in a single cake, since each danger has different probabilities and severities, which will consequently result in different risks);
- Determination of PCC's (with the aid of a decision tree, and having already made clear what prerequisite programs and their effective implementation are, take significant hazards (defined according to the risk matrix) to the decision tree, not that it cannot be take them all, but if you verified that danger unnecessary);
- Establishment of Critical Limits for each CCP (the Codex Alimentarius is very clear when it says: MEASURABLE, that is, the limit must be consistent with monitoring, for example, a company has a pasteurization stage to comply with legislation that says that the The final product must be free of Salmonella spp in 25g. What should be the critical limit? Absence of Salmonella spp in 25g? 90 degrees for 02 minutes), therefore this will be its critical limit, which will consequently lead to compliance with the legislation);
- Establishment of a Monitoring System for each PCC (monitoring must have a consistent frequency (as in case of deviation it must be feasible to reprocess said products), competent employee for this (employees who carry out visual inspections must have a visual acuity test, in order to guarantee that the aforementioned monitoring is being real and effective));
- Establishment of Corrective Actions (in case of deviation/non-compliance in any PCC, corrective actions must already be considered, which includes the possibility of carrying out a recall);
- Establishment of Verification Procedures (verification ensures that monitoring is being carried out correctly (time, methodology, records of information, etc.), care must be taken not to use the same monitoring frequency and thus have a redundant process);
- Establishment of Documentation and Maintenance of Records (we are talking about records that are essential for safe production, free of contaminants, therefore, these records must have clearly defined retention time, review time and main reasons for occurring before frequency).
Its implementation and analysis are not simple, as it is a program that needs robustness. However, the more we practice its development, the more we understand its simplicity and its intention to reinforce the importance of prerequisite programs also known as Good Manufacturing Practices, showing that having many PCCs and PCs is not synonymous with a product. insurance, and rather having PCs and PCCs that are very well thought out and using the basic concepts, is that we will have the manufacture of products that generate life.