HACCP Certification

HACCP Certification

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a process control based system for food safety. The HACCP principle for Food safety has been developed based on guidelines for HACCP application as per the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The HACCP system is a process control system guidelines which is applicable to any organization those who are dealing with Manufacturing, trading, supply, retailing, packing, transportation, farming etc of food product. The HACCP system provides the guideline to identify the food safety Hazards (Physical Hazards, Chemical Hazards & Biological Hazards), evaluation of Food safety Hazards and Food safety Risk analysis, establishing the PRP’s, setting of product characteristics, Critical control points, critical control limits, validation , verification , identification of potential emergency situations related to food safety etc.

The summarized requirement details of HACCP are given below :

HACCP Certification Concept

Assuring Food Safety
Control of food safety through process control by prevention method. Identify the potential food safety concern (i.e Food safety Hazards, contamination, CCP etc).

HACCP Principle

As per Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines, there are seven HACCP principles as given below

• PRINCIPLE 1 – CONDUCT A HAZARD ANALYSIS.
• PRINCIPLE 2 – DETERMINE THE CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS (CCPS).
• PRINCIPLE 3 – ESTABLISH A CRITICAL LIMIT(S).
• PRINCIPLE 4 – ESTABLISH A SYSTEM TO MONITOR CONTROL OF THE CCP.
• PRINCIPLE 5 – ESTABLISH THE CORRECTIVE ACTION TO BE TAKEN WHEN MONITORING INDICATES THAT A PARTICULAR CCP IS NOT UNDER CONTROL.
• PRINCIPLE 6 – ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR VERIFICATION TO CONFIRM THAT THE HACCP SYSTEM IS WORKING EFFECTIVELY.
• PRINCIPLE 7 – ESTABLISH DOCUMENTATION CONCERNING ALL PROCEDURES AND RECORDS APPROPRIATE TO THESE PRINCIPLES AND THEIR APPLICATION.

Application/ Implementation Steps Of HACCP System

• ASSEMBLE THE HACCP TEAM
• DESCRIBE PRODUCT
• IDENTIFY THE INTENDED USE
• HACCP CERTIFICATION
• CONSTRUCT FLOW DIAGRAM
• ON-SITE VERIFICATION OF FLOW DIAGRAM
• LIST ALL POTENTIAL HAZARDS, CONDUCT A HAZARD ANALYSIS AND DETERMINE CONTROL MEASURES DETERMINE CCPS
• ESTABLISH CRITICAL LIMITS FOR EACH CCP
• ESTABLISH A MONITORING SYSTEM FOR EACH CCP
• ESTABLISH CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
• ESTABLISH VERIFICATION PROCEDURES
• ESTABLISH RECORD-KEEPING AND DOCUMENTATION

Benefits Of HACCP Certification

• MINIMIZE THE FOOD SAFETY HAZARDS CONTAMINATION IN FOOD.
• REDUCE THE POTENTIAL FOOD BORN DISEASES, WHICH MAY CAUSE DUE CONTAMINATION OF FOOD.
• IMPROVE COMPLIANCE LEVEL WITH APPLICABLE STATUTORY AND REGULATORY FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
• EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ON FOOD SAFETY ISSUES TO THEIR SUPPLIERS, CUSTOMERS AND RELEVANT INTERESTED PARTIES IN THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
• IMPROVE THE BUSINESS POTENTIAL AMONG THE COMPETITOR
• IMPROVE THE CONFIDENCE OF THE CUSTOMER AND END-USER
• REDUCE THE COST OF FOOD ANALYSIS

Applicant Organization Shall Ensure The Followings Prior To HACCP Certification

• THE ORGANIZATION HAS IMPLEMENTED THE HACCP SYSTEM IN THE ORGANIZATION. ESTABLISHED THE FOOD SAFETY PROCESS CONTROLS, HACCP PROCESS CONTROL MANUAL, RELEVANT PROCEDURES AND SOP’S.
• CONDUCTED ONE COMPLETE CYCLE INTERNAL AUDIT OF HACCP SYSTEM
• CONDUCTED AT LEAST ONE MANAGEMENT REVIEW MEETING ON HACCP SYSTEM

HACCP Certification Process

• APPLICATION REVIEW AND CONTRACT SIGN UP BETWEEN OSS AND APPLICANT ORGANIZATION
• ONSITE AUDIT
• CERTIFICATION DECISION
• ISSUE OF CERTIFICATE
• SURVEILLANCE AUDIT (ANNUALLY OR HALF-YEARLY AS FINALIZED DURING THE APPLICATION REVIEW
• PROCESS AND AGREED BY THE CLIENT)
• RE-CERTIFICATION AUDIT (WITHIN THREE YEARS BEFORE THE EXPIRY OF CERTIFICATE)

HACCP Certification FQA

Why do i need to be HACCP certified?

The business organization in the food business – Manufacturing, Supply, Trading, services, import / Export, etc so on, needs to be HACCP Certified to improve the food safety of the products and services provided by the organization. As HACCP compliance certification, where the organization adopts the HACCP principle in the process and activities of the organization. where Food Safety Hazard Identification, Hazard Analysis, identification of Critical Control points (CCP ), Implementation of the HACCP plan, and monitoring of the CCP are the key requirements. This helps the organization to prevent contamination of food products while processing and be able to provide safe and Hygienic products to the consumers. In Long run, it will help the organization to enhance customer satisfaction, banding of products, and enhancement of business & profitability organization. These are the key benefits of HACCP Certification, which creates the need to be HACCP certified for the organization that is in the Food business.

Who needs to be HACCP certified?

Any organization, who are in the food supply chain business, needs HACCP Certification or to HACCP Certified organization irrespective of size and activities related to the food supply chain needs HACCP Certification for the enhancement of the Food Safety of products. To prevent contaminations and to assure that safe & hygienic food product supply to consumers.

Is HACCP certification mandatory?

HACCP Certification is mandatory when it becomes the requirement of customers and regulatory bodies. In some cases, if it is not said in the requirements of HACCP Certification, being in a Food supply chain business organization, take the self-responsibility to improve Food Safety and provide safe food to the consumer. Implementing the HACCP Food safety principle in the process and activity of the organization considers HACCP mandatory by self. HACCP principle is after all beneficial for the organization when it is implemented in the food processing activities. HACCP Certification is a compliance Certification, where a competent ISO Certification Body (i.e OSS Certification ) Audit team verifies the compliances of HACCP principles and provides the HACCP Certification to an organization.

How long does it take to get HACCP certification?

It all depends on how effectively HACCP principles are implemented in the organization. Generally, the Certification Body providing HACCP Certification normally takes a few days (i.e 2 to 3 days) time to issue the HACCP Certificate, after the receipt of the Audit report and recommendations of the Auditor and certification decision committee members. So to get HACCP Certificate the organization needs to effectively implement the HACCP principle in the entire process of the organization and keep ready availability of necessary information, records, documents, etc. which support to Auditor to complete the compliance verification of HACCP principle within the stipulated time frame and organization get HACCP Certification as early without delay or taking much time.

How to get HACCP certification?

An organization involved in food supply chain business planning to get HACCP Certification. Also wanted to know how to get HACCP Certification and the HACCP Certification process. The Steps to get HACCP certification are :

• Understand the HACCP Principle and its requirements
• Develop Process Flow Chart
• Develop the HACCP Plan
• Provide Food Safety and Hygiene practice Training to workers along with HACCP principles, Food Safety Hazards, Critical Control Points, and Monitoring
• Training on HACCP PLAN and setting the responsibility
• Maintain the CCP monitoring records and Corrective action records
• After Completion of HACCP principles implementation, apply to Certification for HACCP Certification
• Certification Body – will visit the organization to verify the implemented HACCP principal Compliances. If found effective, recommend for Certification. The organization gets HACCP Certification.

The above points are the HACCP Certification process and HACCP Certification requirements to get HACCP Certified to an organization.

HACCP certification eligibility

HACCP Certification eligibility – any organization who are involved in the Food Supply chain Business is eligible for implementation of HACCP principles for further enhancement of Food safety and having HACCP Certification eligibility.

HACCP certification for food manufacturing

HACCP Certification for food manufacturing is very much important from the food safety point of view. Also for Brand building by providing safe and Hygiene food to the consumer. In long run, it will improve customer satisfaction, mouth publicity, and leadership in business. If the organization consistently maintains compliance with the HACCP principle in the entire food manufacturing process and ensures that safe and Hygiene food is provided to the consumer.

HACCP certification India

Nowadays consumers are more conscious about food and Food product quality, Food Safety, and food hygiene. So, HACCP Certification in India is most widely adopted by organizations that are in the Food Supply Chain Business. Which enables them to provide safe and Hygiene Food products to consumers. Similarly, HACCP Certification is most widely adopted by organizations across different continents such as - Dubai, Nigeria, Kerala, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc so on the rest part of the world.

HACCP certification vs iso 22000 Certification

HACCP is a Food Safety Principle, when the organization implements these HACCP principles to get HACCP Certification. HACCP Certification is a compliance certification. Where ISO 22000 is a Food Safety Management System standard, which covers the many requirements of general management systems including Food Safety requirements, HACCP principles, and Food Safety Legal compliance requirements. But HACCP Certification is Limited to HACCP principles implementation and Compliance Verification only. ISO 22000 Certification is a management system Certification also known as ISO Certification, whereas HACCP Certification is a Compliance Certification. Where ISO 22000 Certification has several requirements and HACCP Certification is Limited to HACCP principles only.

Why HACCP certification is important

HACCP Certification is important for Food Safety enhancement and has several prominent benefits, such as :

• Enhancement of Customer Satisfaction
• Assurance of providing safe and Hygiene food to consumer
• Brand Building
• Enhancement of Profitability of Organization

HACCP certification cost

HACCP Certification cost depends on the size and type of the organization. The bigger the organization higher to HACC Certification cost and the smaller organization's HACCP Certification cost is less as compared to the big organization. Generally, Certification Body charged the Audit Man-day rate of HACCP Certification. when the organization is Big the HACCP Compliance verification may require many days, so the HACCP Certification Cost depends on the number of Audit man-days required. generally, HACCP Certification Cost In India is the most competitive, as the Audit man-day rate applied by CAB is most comparative compare to other countries like – the USA, CANADA, Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, UK, etc.

HACCP certificate validity

Generally, the management System issued by CAB for 3-year validity, so taking the concepts of Management System Certification, the HACCP Certificate validity is also, keep as 3 Years validity. Subject to meeting annual surveillance audit compliance requirements. So, HACCP Certificate expired in 3 Years if the certified organization continually meets surveillance Audit requirements. If a Certified organization does not meet the Annual Surveillance Audit requirements the HACCP Certificate expired in one year. So, we can say that HACCP certification lasts for 3 years.

Who gives HACCP certification

An Accredited Certification Body having competency in Food Safety Management Systems and a sufficient competent Audit team of Food Safety can provide the HACCP Certification.