Implementation, Verification, and Maintenance for Ongoing Risk Management

Abstract

Now that we have seen how to apply HACCP principles to develop a HACCP plan, the next step is to implement it in your operation so that you have everyday control of food safety hazards in practice. You have made a commitment to use the HACCP system in order to effectively control all safety issues, and unless the HACCP plan is properly implemented, its real benefits will not be realized. This is a vital stage and yet the relief at having completed the HACCP studies can sometimes mean that businesses see the documentation as the end in itself. Now is not the time to breathe a sigh of relief and assume that you are using HACCP to manage food safety—the HACCP Study was completed at a point in time and if it is to remain as effective as it was on the day it was written it must be implemented in practice and following that, it must be routinely verified and maintained. Even more important is to utilize (24/7) the mindset of hazard identification and analysis as you go about your day-to-day activities. Also to ensure that all employees are thinking in this way, i.e., seeing their operation through a “HACCP lens.”