Food Poisoning

Chemical Hazards: These are chemicals in use in our operations that can cause people illness or injury. This list includes cleaning chemicals, sanitizers, liquid heat, pesticides, lubricants, paint thinners, etc., which can cause internal organ damage when ingested. Allergens are also a chemical hazard. These can be common foods that most people eat without a problem (i.e., peanuts, egg products, celery, etc.). For some people, these cause anaphylactic shock and in some cases death. Last but not least are those chemicals that have been declared health hazards if not limited in their usage (i.e., preservatives, sulfites, etc.) or labeled properly (i.e., aspartame, saccharin, etc.).

Physical Hazards: These are foreign objects (metal and wood splinters, glass fragments, earrings, bone fragments, box staples, etc.) or natural items (cherry pits, walnut shells, olive pits, etc.) hidden in the food that cause people to break a tooth, cut a gum or choke.

Hazard Analysis: Since one cannot see, smell or taste these hazards in food, it is essential that you know where they can get into food and how to do something about it, before the consumer eats the product. These hazards can get into the product at your supplier, during distribution to your facility, in storage at your facility, during preparation in your facility, during service to your customer, etc. Every effort should always be made to protect food at all times, and prevent contamination.

Critical Control Points: This is the second principle of HACCP. This is the step in an operation at which you are going to prevent, eliminate or control the hazard. You can help prevent hazards by purchasing from approved suppliers, protecting the overhead lights and having a written glass control procedure, sending unhealthy employees home, having an integrated pest management program in place, keeping food and all other products covered, washing hands, educating employees, etc. You can help eliminate hazards by cooking foods properly, freezing foods (for parasite control), irradiation of foods, sieving/filtering of foods, etc. You can help control hazards by cooling foods rapidly, keeping food hot (above 135°F [57°C]), keeping food cold (below 41°F [5°]), etc.

Refrigeration is a method of controlling bacteriological hazards.

Critical Limits: The third principle of HACCP pertains to the upper or lower limits at which the system is out of control. For instance, the limit for keeping perishable foods cold is 41°F [5°C]. The critical limit for cooking foods is simply the proper cooking temperature, as measured in the thickest part of the food item.

Monitoring Procedures: The fourth principle of HACCP simply asks for the who, how, when and where the products will be checked at the CCP to ensure that the critical limit has not been reached.

Corrective Actions: Principle five asks you to define what to do when critical control limits are exceeded. For cooking, that might involve increasing the cook time or temperature, or both. For holding cold foods, it might involve discarding foods that have gotten too far above 41°F [5°]. Records must be kept of any corrective actions. The corrective action records, (CARs) need to include the following elements:

• The cause of deviation is identified and eliminated.
• The CCP is back under control, and no product that is injurious to health enters commerce (proof of quarantine or destruction).

Verification Procedures: The sixth principle of HACCP requires that you develop procedures for verification that the CCP is being held in control as per the written program. For instance, checking the thermometers for calibration or signing off on daily cooking temperatures would help to verify that the process is working as planned.