2.2 Thecontrolof foodsafety
Whena relevanthazardhas beendetermined in a certainfoodproduct or a
relevant contaminationpathwayhas beendetermined, one shouldinvestigate
interventionsto control this hazardfor this routeof contamination. For this
control, the HACCP system (HazardAnalysisCriticalControlPoints)can be
used.In this system, the potentialhazardsare first determined, beforedeciding
wherethesehazardscan be controlled(CCPs,critical controlpoints), whatlimits
one should set, howone can monitor to ensurethese limitsare obeyed, what
shouldbe doneif one is off-limit,howone can verifyif everythingis under
control, and this all shouldbe documented.
HACCP is not all that is needed (Fig.2.5).Basichygiene mustbe under
control(GHP,goodhygienicpractice;GMP, goodmanufacturingpractice).
Whenthis basichygieneis not under control, HACCP will not be effective.
Quantitative risk analysis (QRA)can helpin settinglimits, for example for
specificorganismsor for specificstepsin the process,suchas pasteurisation.
Anotherimportantaspectis that apartfromsettingup the system, procedures
shouldbe followedstrictly. Thereare alwaysreasonsto changecertainthings,
but if one doesnot followproceduresstrictly,the systemwill not be effective.
Therefore,certificationand ISO are important. Additionally,it is importantthat
personnelare welleducated,in orderto prevent stupiderrors. Continuous
trainingand education is, therefore,also a relevant aspect.
Withthese structured systems,safety can be controlled,but zerorisk is
unattainable. One can, however, reducerisksby intelligentinterventions.Inter-
national organisationsare movingmoreand moretowardsquantitative risk
analysis. Alsomanyrecentlycreated foodsafetyauthoritiesmoreand more
frequently set quantitative objectives.If one wants,for example, to reducethe
number of foodinfections by 30%in five years, it is clear,giventhe first tables,
that one should focuson the most importantcausativeorganisms.Evenif the
Fig. 2.5 Overviewof foodsafetycontrolsystems.The rangeof microbialrisksin foodprocessing 37