HACCP and risk analysis

Question 1

What is HACCP?

Answer 1

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
A system that identifies, evaluates and controls hazards that are
significant for food safety. It is meant to be reducing the hazards.

Question 2

What is a Hazard?

Answer 2

A biological, chemical, or physical agent in or in condition with food to cause an adverse health effect

Question 3

What is the definition of a risk?

Answer 3

A function of the probability of an adverse health effect and the severity of that effect, consequential to a hazard in food

Question 4

What is the EU regulation surrounding food safety?

Answer 4

2004- all food producing establishments need to have a HACCP plan

Question 5

What is the UK legislation?

Answer 5

Food Hygeine regulations 2006

Question 6

What is the critical control point?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What is the control point?

Answer 7

Any step at which biological, chemical, or physical factors can be
controlled and where loss of control does not lead to an unacceptable health risk

Question 8

What is a CCP decision tree?

Answer 8

a sequence of questions which can be applied to each process step with an identified hazard to identify which process steps are CCP’s

Question 9

What is the critical limit?

Answer 9

a value that separates safe products from potentially unsafe products

Question 10

What is the deviation?

Answer 10

a failure to meet the critical limit

Question 11

What is the definition of non-conformity?

Answer 11

The non-fulfilment of a specified product safety, legal or quality requirement or a specified system requirement

Question 12

What is the definition of correction?

Answer 12

Action to eliminate a detected nonconformity

Question 13

What is the definition of corrective action?

Answer 13

Action to eliminate the cause of a detected
nonconformity

Question 14

What is the definition of preventative action?

Answer 14

Action to eliminate the cause of a potential
nonconformity

Question 15

What is the definition of validation?

Answer 15

Obtaining evidence that the elements of the HACCP plan are effective.

Question 16

What is the definition of verification?

Answer 16

The application of methods, procedures, tests and other
evaluations, in addition to monitoring to determine compliance with the HACCP plan.

Question 17

What are the 7 principles of HACCP?

Answer 17

1. Conduct a hazard analysis
2. identify the CCP’s
3. Establish critical limits
4. Establish monitoring procedures
5. Establish corrective actions
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish record-keeping procedures

Question 18

How may you conduct a hazard analysis?

Answer 18

Identify and list the hazards together with their causes/ sources, then conduct a hazard analysis to determine if the hazards are significant for food safety and specify the control measures

Question 19

What should you think of when conducting a hazard analysis?

Answer 19

• Presence
• Introduction
• Growth
• Survival

Question 20

What are some examples of critical control points

Step two of the HACCP plan

Answer 20

• Storage of high risk food at acceptable temperatures
• Cooking of food

Question 21

How may you determine if something is a critical control point?

Answer 21

• Step involves a hazard of significant occurence and likelihood and severity to warrant site control
• It has a control measure that can be implemented
• Control at this step is neccesary to prevent, eliminate or reduce the risk of the hazard to consumers

Question 22

What is a prerequisite programme?

Answer 22

Measures that provide the basic environmental and operating conditions that are neccesary for the production of safe and wholesome foods

Question 23

What may a loss in the control measures lead to?

Answer 23

a low risk safety issue, an
economic issue or a quality defect.

Question 24

What three key areas does a prerequisite programme cover?

Answer 24

• Premises
• Personnel
• raw materials/ product

Question 25

What are some examples of prerequisite programmes?

Answer 25

• Personal hygiene rules
• cleaning/ sanitation procedures
• calibration procedures
• stock rotation
• waste management

Question 26

What three things make up a risk analysis?

Answer 26

• Risk assesment
• Risk management
• Risk communication

Question 27

What do we remember when choosing a critical control point?

Answer 27

• the CCP is the only place where a hazard can be eliminated, reduced or controlled
• The variable must be measurable (temperature, time, prsence, absence)

Question 28

When is corrective action taken?

This is step 5

Answer 28

When the monitoring (step 4) indicates that a particular CCP is not under control or is moving out of control

Question 29

What is principle 6?

Answer 29

Establish procedures for verification
* To confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively- this includes validation and review activities

Question 30

What is principle 7?

Answer 30

establish documentation
* Concerns all the procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their applications

Question 31

What is teh food safety risk equation?

Answer 31

Likelihood x severity

Question 33

Where would you most likely prioritise a risk strategy?

Answer 33

• Only estimate the true risk
• high priority to people who are getting sick or dying after consuming a contaminated food
• number of animals/ farms becoming infected
• high risk of importation of an agricultural commodity

Question 34

What else do you consider when prioritising a risk startegy

Answer 34

• the effect of risk mitigation strategies
• international trade disputes