Safety first By Jessica Taylor
The classic HACCP system is
implemented under the working
assumption that good manufacturing practices are in place and
that hazards associated with
poor practices have already been
addressed. This is often a wrong
assumption.
The latest on HACCP, GMPs and other programs to help you
ensure the safety and quality of your petfood products
ACCORDING TO THE article “HACCP:
Where Did We Go Wrong?” by David
Rosenblatt, DVM, ever since Dr. Paul
LaChance of NASA and Dr. Howard
Bauman of Pillsbury pioneered the use
of CCPs (critical control points) in food
production 50 years ago,
HACCP (hazard analysis
and critical control points)
has become the most widely
accepted system for managing
food safety in the world.
“There is no argument as
to the effectiveness of the
system when it is applied
properly,” explains Rosenblatt.
“However, poor implemen-
tation or abuse of the system can be
devastating. Indeed, many of the recently
widely publicized food safety incidents
were caused by products originating from
Webinar!
The American Feed Industry Association has designed an educational webcast,
“Management Considerations for
Salmonella/Microbial Control,” to help feed
and petfood industry personnel better
understand how to control and manage
Salmonella. Register for the webcast taking
place on April 22, 2010, at www.afia.org.
HACCP-certified plants.” So what can
petfood manufacturers do to avoid such
brand-threatening catastrophes?
Equipped with a better understanding
of the system, the industry can apply and
maintain more effective petfood safety
management programs. As defined by
Rosenblatt, HACCP is designed to iden-
tify, evaluate and control all food safety
hazards associated with any food related
process. “The methodology is based on
establishing a precise process flowchart
and identifying all significant food safety
hazards at each step of the process,” he
explains. “Those steps along the process
at which effective control is applied are
identified as CCPs and will be monitored
accordingly.”
Examples of CCPs can include thermal
processing, sieving, metal detection,
acidification and high hydrostatic pres-
