HACCP Manual
Book 1: seCTion 5
CritiCal Control point dEtErMination
After the process flow diagramming and the hazard analysis are complete, the next step toward the development of the HACCP plan is to determine the critical control points. These are defined as points within the process at which a physical, chemical, microbiological, or allergen hazard can be controlled, removed, or prevented from entering the process as a means of ensuring the safety of the food. Typical critical control points would be packaging review (allergen risk), metal detection (physical risk), pasteurization (microbiological risk), baking (microbiological risk), or Elisa
of the food; thus, they are not “critical.”
A form on the CD (Book 1_HACCP Program\Section 5_Critical Control Point Determination:Critical Control Point Worksheet) or at the end of this chapter is used to evaluate the connection of the processing steps, product components, control points, and critical control points. To complete this evaluation, one can start with one of the process flows created during the HACCP planning exercise. The process flow name or number, along with the evaluation date, is written on the top of the form.
The process flow name or number should match one of the process flows diagramed in the “Process Flow” section of the HACCP program development. Next, each of the steps detailed on the flow is written in the left-hand processing step column.
The receipt of ingredients, packaging, and any rework streams that occur must be included. The names and/or product item numbers of all the products that use this processing line configuration are written at the bottom. All tests that are or should be completed during the processing step need to be written in the left column. These generally are line and process specific. Although it would be impossible to list all of the processing possibilities, the following are some typical processing steps from the manufacture of various food products with their correlated parameters to evaluate:
processing step parameter to evaluate hazard Ingredient receipt Container cleanliness None
Ingredient receipt COA verification Physical, chemical, microbiological, allergen Packaging receipt Ingredient verification Allergen
Ingredient mixing Consistency None
Pasteurization Bacterial load Microbiological
Baking Temperature Microbiological
Drying Available water Microbiological
Packaging Seals Microbiological
Packaging Weight None
Lot coding Accuracy None
Grinding/chopping Particle size None
Fermentation pH Microbiological
Final product Microbiological testing Microbiological
Filling Volume None
Postpackaging Metal detection Physical
Milling Magnets Physical
Irradiation Bacterial load Microbiological
Warehousing Temperature None
Thermal processing Time and temperature Microbiological
During this process, it will be determined that some of the processing steps will not have parameters to evaluate and some will. The ones that do not have parameters that contain milk should be left empty.
Upon completion of the first two columns, it must be determined if the parameter that is being evaluated is to control a chemical, physical, microbiological, or allergen risk—or none of them—and the correct box filled in. In the last column, whether it is a critical control point or just a control point should be indicated. To determine whether it is or not, the following decision tree is helpful:
Q1 Could the raw material contain the hazard at dangerous levels?
No—not a critical control point, possibly a control point Yes—proceed to Q2
Q2 Will further processing or handling, including correct customer use, remove it or reduce it to an acceptable level?
Yes—not a critical control point, possibly a control point.
No— a critical control point; a program needs to be in place to eliminate and monitor the elimination of the hazard
Q3 Is the formulation or composition of the intermediate or final product essen-tial to prevent an unacceptable increase of the hazard?
No—not a critical control point, possibly a control point Yes—formula or composition is a critical control point
Q4 Is contamination or recontamination possible or is the increase of the haz-ard possible?
Yes—proceed to Q5
No—not a critical control point
Q5 Will further processing or handling, including correct consumer handling, remove the hazard?
Yes—not a critical control point
No— a critical control point; a program needs to be in place to eliminate and monitor the elimination of the hazard
Q6 Is the process stage intended to reduce the hazard to safe levels?
No—not a critical control point
Yes—a critical control point; a program needs to be in place to eliminate and monitor the elimination of the hazard
All completed product/process control point evaluation worksheets are to be filed in section 5, “Critical Control Worksheets,” of the HACCP Book 1. A final administrative step to be completed after determination of the critical control points is to return to the process flows and place the designated CCP numbers in the left-hand column.
example 1
A typical critical control point evaluation worksheet for a bakery is shown on the CD (Book 1_HACCP Program Examples\Section 5:Critical Control Point Work-sheet Complete 1) and at the end of this chapter. It shows the processing steps that occur and each of the parameters that are evaluated along the way. For each step, it is determined whether there is a hazard present or not. First, the ingredients are received, the truck is inspected, and the certificates of analysis for the ingredients that require them are checked against their respective specifications. When the pack-aging and ingredients are received, their ingredient statements are compared against approved statements to verify that they have not changed. Next, the ingredients are mixed and extruded before going into the oven. The baking process is monitored for its time and temperature to ensure that a complete microbiological kill occurs.
After the cookies are cooled, they are packed and run through a metal detector. This ensures that all of the extraneous metal that may have gotten into the cookies is removed. Finally, all of the cookies are coded, cased, and palletized before freezing.
Although there are many control points within this process, there are only three cri-tical control points: one to prevent an allergen hazard, one to eliminate a microbio-logical hazard, and one to monitor a potential physical hazard.
example 2
The control point evaluation for a jelly-making application is shown on the CD (Book 1_HACCP Program Examples\Section 5:Critical Control Point Worksheet Complete 2) and at the end of the chapter. First, ingredients are received and the needed COAs are verified. Next, the ingredient statements on the ingredients and packaging are verified to ensure that no new ingredients have been added or changed.
Then, the ingredients are mixed, heated, and passed through an in-line metal detector before packaging. The containers are labeled, coded, cased, palletized, and ware-housed. In this process lots of points are measured to maintain a consistent quality product; however, there are only three critical control points: one to prevent an aller-gen hazard, one to prevent a microbiological hazard, and one to prevent a potential physical hazard.
freezer for sale. In this process, there are many control points, but only two critical control points. The first one, the ingredient statement inspection of the raw materials and packaging, is an allergen hazard control. The second critical control point is the metal detector, which acts as a physical hazard control.
Book 1: seCTion 5a