Overview
The Codex Alimentarius (or “Food Code”) Commission revised its code of practice in 2020, which has resulted in new definitions, new concepts and a change of focus. While large food business operators holding international certifications such as BRC will be familiar with the changes, regulators, small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consultants may be less sure. This Bitesize training session is an opportunity to revisit the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and compare old with new.
This event will be delivered by Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight CEnvH FCIEH, who has experience of advising food industry clients, auditing food factories and reviewing HACCP systems as an expert witness, and she will draw on diverse examples to highlight what the changes look like and mean in practice.
For regulators, assessing HACCP systems is part of their enforcement role and knowing a good system from a poor one is crucial when determining hygiene ratings and appropriate interventions. For industry professionals, ensuring that plans and systems are compliant enables confidence that due diligence can be met. This session will explore the elements and intention of the modern HACCP plan.
Objectives
- provide regulators with the confidence to review contemporary HACCP plans
- provide industry practitioners with the confidence to devise or update HACCP plans in the contemporary framework
- enable regulators to explore and understand the changes in HACCP expectations, so they are fully equipped to assess modern HACCP plans and identify non-compliance in previous versions
- enable industry practitioners to explore and understand historic and contemporary HACCP styles and approaches and what needs to be in a modern plan to demonstrate compliance
Outcome
Delegates will become familiar with and and appreciate the importance and context of:
- The requirement of retained regulation EC 852/2004 Article 5 for a HACCP based system and the status of the new 2020 Codex guideline
- The changes to the structure of the Codex guideline – what a typical pre 2020 HACCP plan looks like compared with one that complies with the updated guide
- The food business operator’s clarified role in producing safe food
- The foundation of good hygiene practices underpinning the HACCP plan and how this relates to prerequisite plans
- The introduction of a commitment to food safety culture
- The revised and expanded definitions
- The removal of the example decision tree and how critical control points are now to be determined
- The clarification of validation and verification
- What the changes mean for generic and process-led HACCP based systems used in retail and catering
Who should attend?
- Regulatory officers responsible for assessing HACCP compliance as a part of inspections and investigations, including Environmental Health Practitioners and Food Control Officers
- Food industry practitioners with responsibility for devising or managing HACCP plans
- Trainers and consultants delivering HACCP learning programmes
CPD: 2 hours
