HACCP Mentor

Did you know that your staff notice board could be a potential source of contamination? Find out how by viewing episode 25 of HACCP Mentor Review.

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Welcome to Episode 25 of HACCP Mentor Review. In this episode the purpose of a glass register is discussed along with identifying what should be documented on your site map, the weekly action item and an area that is rarely identified as a potential source of foreign matter contamination. The latest updates on food poisoning outbreaks and food recalls are also covered.

What should be on our site map

A documented site map is a pictorial representation of your actual food premises site. The majority of GFSI standards require a site map to be documented. Some examples of the things that should be documented on your site map include water supply outlets, electricity outlets, position of equipment, hand wash stations, exit / entry points, high risk areas, staff areas, floor drainage points, pedestrian traffic areas, truck movement/forklift traffic areas. These are just a few examples so to check your actual requirements, refer to your certification standard.

What is the purpose of a glass register?

Glass, like any other foreign matter, can have an adverse effect on the consumer if eaten. Because of this, we need to know where all glass items are located within a food production area so it can be regularly checked. The purpose of a glass register is to document the location, type and quantity of glass present within your food production area. Glass items can then be checked for integrity on a routine basis. Glass items documented on a glass register can include light fittings, equipment gauges, windows, laboratory equipment, temperature dials and clock faces.

Food Poisoning Outbreaks

The issue with contaminated fruit berries continues with a report released by the CDC in the USA on July 11, 2013 stating that 145 people have now been confirmed to have become ill from hepatitis A after eating ‘Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend’. The outbreak has been traced to contaminated pomegranate seeds.

Meanwhile, the Alabama Department of Public Health continues to investigate a salmonella foodborne outbreak which has affected at least 67 people. There has been five (5) confirmed cases of Salmonella Heidelberg. Consumers became ill after eating a meal served as part of a local funeral held at the Eastern Star Baptist Church in York.

Food Recalls

A timely reminder this week to review your raw material hazard analysis if you use nuts in any of your finished products. Packaged Pistachios have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination.

What is on your notice board?

Information noticeboards are a great way to keep staff up to date. Unfortunately, these noticeboards can become a source of contamination if they are not controlled or if they are located within your food production area. Make sure that you have considered in your hazard analysis, any of the fasteners used on your noticeboard. This includes magnets, clips and metal pins. Having a record of the quantity of these items located on your notice board will help with the control of these potential hazards. This check can then be incorporated into your monthly GMP inspections.

 

Weekly action item

In episode 23 of HACCP Mentor Review find out about the importance of critical limit validation along with documenting your own microbiological acceptance table.

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Welcome to Episode 23

Thanks for joining me this week for HACCP Mentor Review Episode 23. This week we cover micro acceptance tables, completing pest bait audits, the importance of critical limit validation and a the final results of two recent food poisoning outbreaks.

How to develop a Micro Acceptance Table

Any good food safety system will include a verification activity that involves having your food product tested for the presence of microbiological contamination. Getting the product tested is easy, but an area sometimes neglected is checking to see if the reported results are ok or not. This is where a micro acceptance table comes in handy. 

These tables should be developed to reflect the types of food tested and the limits of acceptability for each of the testing criteria’s. Reference to applicable regulatory limits should also be incorporated in what you determine to be acceptable.

Procedures should also be documented outlining what should be done if the testing results are marginal, unsatisfactory or potentially hazardous.

Food Poisoning Outbreaks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have in the past week released final updates on two different multistate food poisoning outbreaks which occurred in the USA. The first involved two separate strains of Salmonella infection linked to Tahini Sesame Paste and the second involved 84 people infected with Salmonella Saintpaul linked to imported cucumbers. You can check out the final reports from the links on the HACCP Mentor Website.

Tahini Sesame Paste Food Poisoning Outbreak

Imported Cucumbers Food Poisoning Outbreak

Action Item

This week’s action item is to check that all chemical containers are labelled. This includes any spray bottles that chemicals have been decanted into. The purpose of this activity is to make sure that all chemicals can be easily identified.

Pest Bait audits

Pest control bait maps are documented to depict the type of control and the location of the control. Common pest control devices include rodent traps, electric fly killers, sticky baits and moth pots. Make it a pest control verification activity to routinely go around and compare the physical location of these devices against what has been documented on your pest control bait maps. Also check the security and condition of your bait stations during these audits.

The importance of critical limit validation

All critical limits that you have identified and allocated in your HACCP Audit table need to be validated. This means you need to be able to say where did you get the critical limit from and what evidence or justification supports that it is going to work to achieve the desired food safety outcome.

Critical limit validation can be either based on process validation (where you have done the validation study yourself) or from theoretical validation (where you reference legislation or other recognised information). You are required to document all validation sources for each critical limit. The easiest way to do this is draw up a ‘Critical Limit Validation’ table with three columns. In the first column title it ‘Process Step’, in the second column title this ‘Critical Limit’ and the final column title this ‘Justification’. Complete the table based on the critical limits that you have identified at each process step.

In episode 22 of HACCP Mentor Review controlling identity preserved foods, the key considerations for lighting in a food production area are covered along with the latest food recalls and the food safety action of the week.

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Welcome to Episode 22 of HACCP Mentor Review. In this episode the key considerations for lighting in a food production area, first aid kits, identity preserved food and name that food hazard are all covered along with the food recall wrap up and the action of the week.

Key considerations for lighting in a food production area

Lighting is integral to producing safe food but there are some things that need to be considered when lighting your food business. All lights should be adequately covered to prevent contamination of food product should a light globe happen to shatter. An alternative is to use shatter-proof light globes.

Light fittings should be positioned to allow for the most effective illumination of food production and food storage areas. The intensity should be within legal requirements for the food industry. Check your local food laws for the minimum lux required for food production. Don’t forget that light fittings should be also subjected to regular cleaning.

First Aid Kits in production areas

Have you considered that a first aid kit stored within the food production environment could be a potential source of contamination? Your first aid kit most likely contains metal safety pins, liquid medical solutions and other items that could become both a source for intentional or unintentional contamination. At a minimum, list everything that is contained in the first aid kit and regularly audit the contents to ensure that nothing is missing.

Recall Wrap Up

Some of the food recalls reported in the past week have included:

* Salmonella in alfalfa sprouts

* Listeria monocytogenes in Sunflower Seeds, Snack Mixes and Packaged corned beef

* Undeclared allergens in chocolate bars, bakery muffins, Vege Deli Chips

What is an identity preserved food?  

Identity preserved foods are products that make a claim. These claims can relate to the status of a food product or raw material. The most common types of identity preserved foods include free range, preservative free, organic, Kosher and Halal.

If you advertise or label any of your food products with any type of claim, you are required to have suitable evidence to support the claim. Evidence can include test results, chain of custody documentation, raw material certifications and applicable control procedures. Undertaking a traceability activity on an identity preserved food is a good verification activity to test your claims.

Identify the food hazards

Check out a new game that I like to call – name that food hazard. Each week, a new food item will be published on the HACCP Mentor website and it is your job to list what hazards are associated with the food item. This will be a great education tool in identifying hazards that can be further used in your own hazard identification. You can check out the first food product on the HACCP Mentor website – just check the navigation tabs for “Name that Food Hazard”.

Action Item of the week

This week’s action item is to Check that the HACCP team details are current. Make sure that all team members are listed with their relevant positions and qualifications.

Wrap Up

Don’t forget about Food Safety Live coming up on June 26. I am presenting at this event so if you haven’t registered already, head over to www.foodsafetylive.com. Thanks for viewing Episode 22 of HACCP Mentor Review. Until next time, I am Amanda Evans from HACCP Mentor.com

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