HACCP principles and food safety with packaging equipment

The ideals of safety in the food industry include sanitation and hygiene, of course, but also involve the protection of food quality in terms of nutrients and flavors, worker safety, sustainability, and effective distribution worldwide. The global food industry is a complex system that has evolved to meet the needs of a population of 8 billion. Because of the sector’s complexities, strict standards set by international agencies and governments are required to maintain a working system without compromising safety or furthering climate change. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other organizations play a large role in regulating the food industry in the United States. Since 1997, these agencies and others have adopted Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles for food safety. As a manufacturer of innovative food packing equipment, Forpak follows strict industry guidelines including HACCP principles to maximize efficiency and safety.

FOOD PROCESSORS

HACCP has seven core principles that food processors can utilize to pinpoint issues in their systems and correct those potential hazards before they damage food quality, employee safety, or facilities.

For food safety and the prevention of other hazards, HACCP principles include:

ANALYSIS OF HAZARDS:

Collecting data about the conditions of a hazard is a key first step in correcting those problems. Analyzing a stage in your assembly process for hazards also helps you follow the same pattern for future hazard points.

FIND CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS:

Once a hazard analysis sets your foundation, determining the critical control points will help you work to prevent that hazard from continuing. Control points are any kinds of steps, tools, or other components of your operations where control over safety can be applied.

SET LIMITS:

Your limits are whatever minimum and maximum levels a control must be applied to reduce or prevent hazards. This can be a physical, chemical, or biological control limit.

MONITOR PROCESS:

Observe changes you make in your controls and their limits to determine if more adjustments are needed and to collect data on that process.

CORRECT ERRORS:

If your data collection on changes to control points and their limits results in a continued hazard, you should correct parameters to reduce that error. This principle also covers any corrections needed to noncompliance to laws, regulations, and standards.

VERIFY PROCESS:

When your control points and limits are accurately and reliably reducing or eliminating a hazard, establish a verification step that can be used in the future on other HACCP processes. Different steps of a HACCP process can be verified with varying frequencies depending on their scope of impact.

KEEP DETAILED RECORDS:

To improve all your HACCP practices and corrective actions in general, you need to keep detailed records and establish procedures around those documentation processes.

At Forpak, we follow HACCP principles in all our manufacturing operations to ensure our products protect worker, equipment, and food safety in the packing industry. To learn more about our automated equipment, contact Forpak at (952) 491-6975 or support@forpak.com. Request more information online or request a quote to get started with us today.