quality assurance group within a firm or a
similar group with past and/or present
responsibilities for the food safety functions
in the organization. The challenges that must
be accepted to ensure proper implementa-
tion include execution of the 12 develop-
mental steps discussed earlier.
Stevenson and Bernard (1995) identified
the two deficiencies in the HACCP plan most
frequently detected as: (1) documentation of
the HACCP plan (insufficient “background”
documentation on decision making and inad-
equate documentation of actual processes)
and (2) management of the HACCP pro-
gram. Ineffective management is most likely
to be failure to ensure that a comprehensive
plan is in place to yield safe products and
inadequate review mechanisms to prove that
the HACCP plan is being applied correctly.
A clear commitment to food safety and
HACCP concepts by the management team
is essential. Success depends on management
commitment, detailed planning, appropriate
resources, and employee empowerment. A
corporate statement of support for HACCP
is an effective tool for communicating the
importance of HACCP to all employees.
Furthermore, management should establish
specific objectives and implementation
schedules for additional support.
Management and Maintenance of HACCP
Management support is essential to the
maintenance of an acceptable HACCP plan.
One person within an organization should be
responsible for the maintenance of HACCP.
This responsibility includes coordination of
input from others, monitoring of activities,
review, validation, verification, and docu-
mentation. Furthermore, the coordinator
should ensure that the HACCP team has
access to the variety of information required
to conduct the various assignments. Each
individual assigned to HACCP-related tasks
should be provided appropriate written
instructions and descriptions of responsibil-
ities and tasks. Reporting structures and the
relationships of those involved should be
determined, and the appropriate forms must
be developed and provided for employees.
An HACCP plan should be evaluated fre-
quently and revised as needed. Evaluation
should involve the review and interpretation
of results and verification and validation of
the plan. Proposed changes to the plan
should be evaluated. A mandatory evalua-
tion process guarantees that a systematic
evaluation is made of any changes in the
process, thus assuring that any revisions
affecting product safety are evaluated before
implementation (Stevenson and Bernard,
1995). Verification assures that the HACCP
plan will be evaluated and revised as needed.
Most food establishments have instituted
environmental sampling to meet HACCP
prerequisites and/or validate the process.
Sampling strategies should be evaluated in
advance with the particular operation being
evaluated and consistent with the goals of
the plant’s daily pre-operational sanitation
policy and procedures (Slade, 2002). Sam-
pling strategies may be incorporated to vali-
date the process in concert with statistical
process control and other environmental
monitoring to ensure that the manufactured
products are not getting too dirty through-
out the production shift. If contaminated
products are detected, a systems or quality
assurance investigation should identify
the problem origin and corrective actions
necessary for eradication of the problem.
According to Slade (2002), the stringency
of environmental sampling within the pre-
operational sanitation scheme, is deter-
mined by the zone or “shell” concept under
which a map of sampling sites is prepared,
followed by routine testing of three of these
identified sites. Samples may be taken occa-
sionally ad hoc at non-mapped sites to avoid
surprises. Sampling sites may be identifiedThe Role of HACCP in Sanitation 113