Hazard analysis

Clia Manaia ESCOLA SUPERIOR DE BIOTECNOLOGIA Universidade Catlica Portuguesa September 2006

Chemical Hazards Environmental contaminants

Include all the chemical contaminants that persist in the environment
Pb, Hg, As.

Environmental contamination and food safety

. Miller Jones, 1992, Food Safety. ISBN: 0-9624407-3-6

Accumulation of contaminants in food chains

Schmidt & Rodrick. 2003. Food safety handbook. Wiley Interscience. ISBN: 0-471-21064-1

Chemical Hazards Food chemicals

Include all the chemical substances that are intentionally added to the food product and that above a certain limit may have undesirable effects on human health
E.g. preservatives, acids, food additives, sulfites, processing aids.

Physical Hazard
A potentially harmful matter not normally found in food
Glass Wood Stones Metal Plastic

Physical Hazards
Major sources of physical hazard
Contamination during growing and harvesting (stones, insects, metal) Contamination during processing and handling (bone, cloth, grease) Contamination during distribution (insect, stones, dirt)

Sources of physical hazards and injury potential

Corlett, DA. 1998. HACCP Users Manual. Aspen Publishers, USA. ISBN 0-8342-1200-5

Other forms of physical hazard

Miller Jones, 1992, Food Safety. ISBN: 0-9624407-3-6

A guide to possible hazards

Corlett, DA. 1998. HACCP Users Manual. Aspen Publishers, USA. ISBN 0-8342-1200-5

A guide to possible hazards (cont.)

A guide to possible hazards (cont.)

Hazard analysis
Considering the nature of each hazard, briefly refer the kind of methodologies and/or instruments that can be used to detect/quantify such hazards.

From hazard analysis to its control

Hazard control is achieved through the application of preventive measures.

From hazard analysis to its control

Control Point
Any point, step or procedure at which biological, physical or chemical factors can be controlled. Not necessarily related with food safety.

A control point where hazards can be prevented are Critical Control Points
For example

Hazard Pathogen or drug residue Chemical hazard Pathogen growth

Prevention Control at receiving step (supplier declaration) Control formulation or ingredient addition pH or preservative adjustment

CCPs are points where hazards can be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level
For example

Hazard Pathogen Metal fragment

CCP Cooking Metal detector and elimination of contaminated products Freezing

Parasites in fish

Critical Control Point

DEFINITION

A point, step or procedure at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food-safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Multiple CCPs to control a single Hazard A single CCP controlling multiple Hazards A CCP can controls more than one hazard
A refrigerated storage CCP may control bacterial growth and biogenic amine production;

More than one CCP may control a hazard

The cook step and the packaging may be CCPs in controlling pathogens in cooked pre-cooked meat.

CCPs are not always the same

Factors as these may have influence:
Climate conditions (temperature and humidity) Plant layout Raw materials Process flow Equipment Ingredient selection Sanitation Local regulation

How can CCPs be identified?

A decision tree may be a valuable tool

Decision tree

Corlett, DA. 1998. HACCP Users Manual. Aspen Publishers, USA. ISBN 0-8342-1200-5

HOW TO CONTROL?
Establishing critical limits

Critical Limit
DEFINITION

A maximum and/or minimum value to which a biological, chemical or physical parameter must be controlled at a CCP to prevent, eliminate or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of a food-safety hazard.

Examples of Critical Limits

Hazard
Milk bacterial pathogens Dried food bacterial pathogens

CCP
Pasteurizer Drying oven

Critical Limit
161oF for 15 seconds Oven temperature: 200oF drying time: 120 min. flow rate: 2 ft3/min. thickness: 0.5 inches aw 0.85

How are Critical Limits defined?

Public Authorities for Food Safety; Universities, Public Institutes, Science publications; Sometimes the consultancy of R&D institutions may be required.

A variety of options may exist for controlling a particular hazard

The selection of the best control option and critical limit will be based on the aspects related with the specific situation.

CCPs must be monitored

Through a sequence of observations or measurements. This procedure will permit
to verify whether a CCP is under control; to produce an accurate record for future verification.

Monitoring systems
Verify if a CCP is operating within the critical limit; Are physical or chemical measurements (quantitative) or observations (qualitative); Are in real time and need to be accurate; May operate continuously or intermittently; Require a trained technician.

Examples of monitoring
Storage temperature pH of an acidifying ingredient Supplier certificate Can you give more examples?

Case studies
The analysis of selected case studies will help to elucidate some of the aspects referred before. Source Case studies in food microbiology for food safety and quality 2002. Rosa Pawsey. RS.C press. ISBN: 085404-626-7 Cases 1, 2, 6, 7, 11.

Seven sites you must visit

Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/a2z-toc.html Food Safety http://www.who.int/foodsafety/en/ EU integrated approach to food safety http://ec.europa.eu/food/index_en.htm Publications related to food safety http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/en/ European Food Safety Authority http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en.html