by H. Kenneth Johnson
Theory and practice are both critical to the successful design and implementation of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program.
Where theoretical leaves off, practical picks up. Yet, without the theoretical, the practical has little foundation. That presents a challenge for the meat industry as individual companies struggle to embrace HACCP. There are few places where the theoretical and practical come together to help those who must implement the programs put an overview to the entire process.
In June, a 2.5 day short course in Kansas City, sponsored by the American Meat Science Association, pulled together an impressive collection of authorities from both sides of the fence to help merge the theoretical with the practical. Entitled "A Practical Approach to Meat Plant HACCP," the conference had the contribution of academic and industry experts-and a valuable sharing of information between the two.
Agreement seen
Experts at the conference demonstrated that there is general agreement in academia and industry when it comes to many HACCP-related topics. A few of those discussed were:
-- HACCP is a prevention, not a detection, process. It may be difficult for some processors to grasp the concept of process control, when the inspection system to this point has been focused on the detection of problems through various tests. But it's a valuable exercise. Microbial testing can be done as one verification step to help assure a HACCP system is working, but by itself it is a poor tool for use in monitoring or assuring safe product.
-- Taking care of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is a good first step in putting together a HACCP program. What's the difference between the two? At the conference, Bob Merkel, professor emeritus at Michigan State University, described it best: SOP describes how you're going to perform the work; GMP describes how you're going to conduct your business.
-- HACCP can be a money-making proposition. HACCP is a process control and can help companies get a better handle on their operations. At the same time, good HACCP systems will improve the safety of product coming out of their plants.
-- When it comes to HACCP, everyone starts at the beginning. HACCP programs are unique to each plant or operation, so there are no shortcuts-and no reasons to procrastinate.
-- Government decree is a poor reason to put a HACCP system in place. "Doing it because the government says you have to is probably the worst reason to do it," said H. Russell Cross, director of the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University. The best reasons involve improvements to both individual plants and meat products themselves.
-- We shouldn't oversell HACCP. It isn't a panacea or silver bullet, since at this point the product-by its very nature-cannot be guaranteed 100 percent safe. It provides an important improvement, though, and should be considered on those merits.
-- Support from both top management and employees on the line is necessary to have a successful HACCP system. The people on the line are the control, and the people in the front office are the motivation. Without either, the system fails.
-- HACCP is a dynamic system and only good as long as you keep it up. The evolving nature of HACCP means that companies can't introduce the system and let it run by itself. Monitoring and verification are needed. Program participants found out that the task is formidable.
None, however, said the process wasn't worth the time or effort to get it going-or that they were discontinuing their programs for lack of perceived benefits.