Food Hazards : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

Why HACCP?

A number of national and international organizations have endorsed HACCP, including the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, which includes government and non-government food safety experts, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international food standard-setting organization.

HACCP is viewed favorably because of its potential to help the United States and other countries cope with new food safety challenges. Among the challenges most often cited is an increase in the number of human disease outbreaks due to food-borne microbial pathogens. For example, between 1973 and 1988, bacteria not previously recognized as important causes of food-borne illness in the United States — such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enteritidis — became more widespread.

"Fifty years ago, we were dealing with only a limited number of food-borne pathogens," said FDA's Rhodehamel, referring to Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, and the parasite Trichinella spiralis. "Today, the list of known food-borne pathogens is much more extensive."

There also is increasing concern about chemical contamination, such as the effects of lead on the nervous system.

Another problem is that processing and packaging systems designed to prolong shelf life may introduce new food safety risks.

Also of interest is the increasing size of the U.S. food industry — both in the amount of domestic food manufactured and the number and kinds of foods imported. FDA now lists over 30,000 food manufacturers and processors and more than 20,000 food warehouses in its inventory, and in 1992 alone dealt with more than 1 million imported food items. At the same time, FDA and state and local agencies face severe resource constraints that make it increasingly difficult to ensure food safety.

Advantages

Advocates of HACCP believe that it offers a number of advantages to help deal with these challenges. Most importantly, HACCP:

• focuses on preventing hazards from contaminating food
• is based on sound science
• places responsibility for ensuring food safety on the food manufacturer or distributor. Under a HACCP-based inspection system, the food company develops the HACCP plan, and government's role is to verify that the company is carrying out its plan. Government monitoring would ensure that preventive controls are in place and working properly.
• permits more efficient and effective government oversight, primarily because the record keeping allows government investigators to see how well a firm is complying with food safety laws over time rather than how well it is doing on any given day. Under the proposal FDA envisions, the agency would have access to critical control point records.
• helps food companies compete more effectively in the world market. Members of the European Union and other countries, such as Canada, will soon require imported foods and foods made within their borders to be processed under HACCP requirements.

At the Heinz plant in Pittsburgh, company officials have discovered another advantage: a potential savings to the company. According to Ed Sonnet, technical operations consultant for Heinz USA, the HACCP system seems to have led to a drop in the number of stock cases held at the company's Pittsburgh plant. These are cases of food that are withheld from the market because of poor quality or safety concerns.

"We have a very strong feeling in our minds that HACCP is doing a good job for us," he said. "We think we'll be able to quantify it a lot better when we go into our other plants."

Sonnett said HACCP will be implemented in the company's four other U.S. manufacturing facilities by April 1995.

What's Ahead

FDA has begun reviewing comments it received in response to its August 1994 advance notice of proposed rule-making. At press time, in late 1994, the agency was planning to begin a pilot HACCP program with about six food manufacturing companies. FDA will use information from this program to help decide whether to propose a HACCP system for industry, and, if so, to what extent.

If FDA decides to implement HACCP for the seafood industry, it expects to issue final regulations this year. This program, along with HACCP programs already in use, will likely lay the groundwork for future food safety in the United States and the world.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.