Agricultural Policy Framework Newsletter - September 2007
New Workshop Makes HACCP a Kinder, Gentler Process
Food production and processing is a complex business, and many small–to-medium sized businesses feel overwhelmed at the work required to make sure food is safe and of a high quality. But help is at hand.
As part of the Canadian Food Safety and Quality Program - Food Safety Initiative, the BC Centre for Disease Control and regional health authorities are offering small-scale food processors hands-on support to develop their HACCP-based (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) food safety program.
HACCP is the internationally recognized system for proactively improving food safety from the beginning of the food chain to the end. It focuses on preventing and controlling hazards, such as food-borne illness, at all stages of the production line.
“HACCP is becoming standard practice around the world, something everyone in the food production and processing industry is expected to have,” said Sion Shyng, Food Safety Specialist with the BC Centre for Disease Control. “It’s not just about the big operations anymore. Small scale producers should be developing their own HACCP-based systems to meet consumer and regulatory expectations.”
The good news for small scale processors is that the BC Centre for Disease Control and the regional health authorities have spent the past year developing a new HACCP workshop and training manual – one that is simpler, clearer and easier to use. The manual walks processors through every step required to assess their operation, identify any gaps in their food safety program, and develop new systems to improve the safety of the end product.
“We’ve made it easier for producers to understand exactly what they need to do to improve plant operations”, Shyng said. “We’re also providing significant support for plant owners who recognize the need to start a HACCP plan. Regional health authorities are offering free, one-day workshops for eligible businesses that are interested in finding out more, and many of those will be eligible for a one-on-one, on-site consultation.”
As part of the Canadian Food Safety and Quality Program - Food Safety Initiative, the BC Centre for Disease Control and regional health authorities are offering small-scale food processors hands-on support to develop their HACCP-based (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) food safety program.
HACCP is the internationally recognized system for proactively improving food safety from the beginning of the food chain to the end. It focuses on preventing and controlling hazards, such as food-borne illness, at all stages of the production line.
“HACCP is becoming standard practice around the world, something everyone in the food production and processing industry is expected to have,” said Sion Shyng, Food Safety Specialist with the BC Centre for Disease Control. “It’s not just about the big operations anymore. Small scale producers should be developing their own HACCP-based systems to meet consumer and regulatory expectations.”
The good news for small scale processors is that the BC Centre for Disease Control and the regional health authorities have spent the past year developing a new HACCP workshop and training manual – one that is simpler, clearer and easier to use. The manual walks processors through every step required to assess their operation, identify any gaps in their food safety program, and develop new systems to improve the safety of the end product.
“We’ve made it easier for producers to understand exactly what they need to do to improve plant operations”, Shyng said. “We’re also providing significant support for plant owners who recognize the need to start a HACCP plan. Regional health authorities are offering free, one-day workshops for eligible businesses that are interested in finding out more, and many of those will be eligible for a one-on-one, on-site consultation.”
Rita Cheng, President of Superior Tofu in Vancouver, is happy to hear that. She’s a strong advocate of the value of HACCP compliance, and says her company has reaped the benefits of being certified.
“One of our customers wanted to come and inspect our plant, and that got us involved in looking at this whole process,” Cheng explained. “We were also looking at exporting our product, and the marketing side of the business asked if we were certified. We realized that if we wanted to expand, we needed to achieve a certain standard.”
“Having a HACCP certification tells potential customers that we have a high-quality plant,” said Cheng. “Many potential customers haven’t heard of us, but knowing that we have been certified and that we practice HACCP, they have confidence to do business with us.”
Not only has Superior Tofu improved the quality and safety of the product and tracing systems, there have been unexpected benefits as well.
“Our staff training is much simpler now,” Cheng said. “As a result of going through the HACCP process, we now have very detailed job descriptions. We had to analyse the production flow, identify what each person does, what their work procedures are, and we established operating procedures for every single job.
“We have hundreds of job descriptions. It was very daunting, but now, when we have to train new staff, we can go to a binder and pull out all these standard operating procedures. This prevents new staff from making mistakes on the floor, and it saves us time in training them.”
Cheng believes that more support and a simpler HACCP process will encourage other food processors to come on board.
“There was a lot of ‘Oh my gosh, this is horrendous!’ when we first looked at the HACCP documents,” she said. “I think that’s the first reaction of anyone who looks at them. It was really off-putting, especially for small businesses. But even though it was tough, it was worth it. Making it even easier for other businesses is a great idea.”
Your food processing business is eligible if:
- You are not federally registered
- Food is processed on site (fish and shellfish excluded)
- You sell your product off-site
If you’re eligible, you can:
- Attend a free one-day food safety workshop to review Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and the application of HACCP to the processes you use in your plant.
The workshop includes:
- basic food safety theory
- hands-on activities, and
- tools and templates to take away and implement at your food processing plant.
- Receive free one-on-one on-site consultation with a Food Safety Initiative Consultant, or Environmental Health Officer, who can assist in developing your own GMPs and HACCP plans.
Find a workshop in your community:
Top