S C I E N C E R E C I P R O C A T I O N F A I R Th Currnt Sttus of HACCP Implmnttion H.R. CROSS* n T.C. JACKSON* Th Hzr Anlysis n Critil Control Point (HACCP) systm hs n wily nors y inustry n rgultors intrntionlly s n fftiv, prvnttiv pproh to pross ontrol whih ssurs th sfst possil foo supply. HACCP hs n nors y th Cox Alimntrius Commission Committ on Foo Hygin n Committ on Mt Hygin (Cox, 1993) n is urrntly ing implmnt in th Europn Union, Cn, Austrli, Nw Zln n th Unit Stts. In 1995, th USDA s Foo Sfty n Insption Srvi (FSIS) issu propos HACCP n pthogn rution rgultion whih woul mnt HACCP for th U.S. mt n poultry inustry (USDA, 1995). Th Foo n Drug Aministrtion (FDA) hs propos mntory HACCP for sfoo prouts n is urrntly rfting finl rul (FDA, 1994). Th FDA hs lso issu pr-proposl rqusting ommntry on th implmnttion of mntory HACCP for ll rgult foos (FDA, 1994). Mny ompnis hv lry implmnt HACCP us it is suh n fftiv pross-mngmnt tool. Othr ompnis r onsiring HACCP progrms in ntiiption of mnts from frl rgultors or in rspons to prssurs from ustomrs. As th HACCP onpt movs to th forfront of th rgultory n inustry foo sfty gn, it is sirl to onsir th urrnt sttus of HACCP implmnttion in th foo inustry, n its rlt nfits n iffiultis. Th Intrntionl Mt n Poultry HACCP Allin nvor to otin snpshot of th urrnt sttus of HACCP implmnttion in th mt n poultry inustry. To this n, th Allin snt qustionnirs to vrious tr ssoitions n to iniviul ompnis in Jun, 1995. Th informl survy riv 151 rsponss, primrily from ompnis in th U.S., whih hv hlp to pint pitur of *H.R. Cross, Institut of Foo Sin n Enginring, Cntr for Foo Sfty, Th Txs A&M Univrsity Systm, Collg Sttion, TX. *T.C. Jkson, Institut of Foo Sin n Enginring, Cntr for Foo Sfty, Th Txs A&M Univrsity Systm, Collg Sttion, TX. Riprol Mt Confrn Proings, Volum 48, 1995. HACCP implmnttion n hv rflt mny of th onrns n misunrstnings in inustry rgring th HACCP onpt. Qustions ontin in th qustionnir r inlu in Tl 1. Rsponss to svrl of ths qustions r ontin in Tls 2-4. This t hs n tgoriz y ompny siz, prout tgory n ommoity group. Of th 151 rsponnts, thr ws grtr rspons from lrgr ompnis ( $50 million in sls/yr; n = 72) thn mium siz ompnis ($2.5-49.9 million in sls/yr; n = 43), n smll ompnis ( $2.49 million in sls/yr; n = 29). Thr ws lss ln istriution of ompny tivity. On hunr thirty-thr ompnis wr involv in prossing, 100 wr involv in slughtr, n smllr numrs wr involv in foo srvi n rtil (n = 46 n 46, rsptivly). Chikn (n = 94), pork (n = 72) n f (n = 69) wr th most frqunt ommoity groups rprsnt, whil lm n turky wr lso rprsnt (n = 35 n 38, rsptivly). It is notl tht mny ompnis intifi thmslvs with two or mor ommoity groups or ompny tivitis. For som qustions, th sum of th prntgs of totl rsponnts nswring ys n no os not qul 100%. This is rsult of unlr rsponss or lk of rsponss y som rsponnts to som of th qustions inlu in th qustionnir. Compnis wr sk whthr or not thy urrntly hv HACCP plns in pl for on or mor of thir oprtions. Ovr ll, 49.7% of rsponnts urrntly hv HACCP plns whil 47.0% o not. Th highst lvl of HACCP implmnttion ws init y ompnis tht h lssifi thmslvs s lrg. HACCP plns wr implmnt y 70.9% of ths ompnis, whil th opposit ws tru for mium n smll ompnis, with lvls of implmnttion of only 32.6% n 17.2%, rsptivly. This ontrst ws not monstrt whn ompny tivity ws onsir, lthough ompnis involv in slughtr oprtions h th highst implmnttion rt (53.0%), n th gr of implmnttion for ompnis with rtil tivity ws notily smllr. Of th ommoity groups, th lvl of implmnttion for turky, f n hikn wr similr (50.0%, 43.5%, n 54.3%, rsptivly). Implmnttion for pork ws lowr (38.9%), n lm ws th lowst, t 22.9%. 48th Annul Riprol Mt Confrn 117
TABLE 1. Qustions Inlu in th Intrntionl Mt n Poultry HACCP Allin Qustionnir. Compny Informtion: Compny tivity (slughtr, prossing, foo srvi, rtil, othr). Prouts involv (f, pork, lm, hikn, turky, othr). Siz of ompny (lrg [ $50 million sls/yr], mium [$2.5-49.9 million sls/yr], smll [ $2.49 million sls/yr]). Implmnttion of HACCP: 1. Do you urrntly hv HACCP plns in pl for on or mor of your ompny oprtions? 2. Do you fl tht HACCP shoul mntory or voluntry? Why? 3. Do you rquir tht your supplirs hv HACCP progrms in pl? If so, wht inustry sgmnts? 4. Dos your ompny nourg your ustomrs to implmnt HACCP progrms? If your ompny is not oprting with HACCP plns: 5. Do you hv plns to implmnt HACCP? 6. Will you vlop HACCP plns for your ompny if th frl govrnmnt os not mnt HACCP? If not, why not? 7. In wht r of your oprtions o you intn to first implmnt HACCP plns? If your ompny is oprting with HACCP plns: 8. Pls spify s to th numr of plns for: (slughtr, prossing, foo srvi, rtil-frsh, rtil-li/ook). 9. How long hv th ov plns n in pl? 10. How muh tim ws rquir to put your first pln in pl? 11. How oftn will/o you r-vlut n moify your pln? 12. Do you hv n mploy on your pyroll trin in HACCP? If ys, how mny mploys? How wr thy trin? If not, r you plnning to hir HACCP xprt? 13. Is miroiologil tsting utiliz in your HACCP progrm? If so, how is it us? 14. Why i your ompny implmnt HACCP? Hw HACCP improv your ottom lin? Cn you giv som xmpls of how th ottom lin hs improv? 15. Your ompny uss HACCP to rss wht issus? (sfty only, qulity only, sfty n qulity) Compnis without urrnt HACCP progrms wr sk if thy intn to implmnt HACCP, n 52.1% rspon tht thy woul. A similr prntg of ompnis, 54.9%, rspon tht thy intn to implmnt HACCP vn if not mnt y th frl govrnmnt. As with urrnt HACCP implmnttion, ompny siz ws mjor ftor in futur plns to implmnt HACCP. Of lrg ompnis without urrnt HACCP progrms, 90.5% h plns to implmnt HACCP. A slightly smllr proportion (85.7%) woul implmnt HACCP vn without frl mnt. Of mium ompnis, 59.3% h plns to implmnt HACCP, whil th sm proportion woul o so without frl mnt. Only 8.7% of smll ompnis without urrnt HACCP progrms h plns to implmnt HACCP, lthough highr prntg, 21.7, rspon tht thy woul implmnt HACCP without frl mnt. Whn group y ssoit ommoity groups, grtr prntg of thos utilizing hikn (65.0%) h plns to implmnt HACCP thn th othr ommoity groups. Th ft tht mny of th ompnis survy lssifi thmslvs into mor thn on ommoity group or ompny tivity woul mk it iffiult to trmin whthr impl- TABLE 2. Rsponss to Intrntionl Mt n Poultry HACCP Allin Survy. Implmnttion of HACCP n Opinions on Rgultory Sttus for Lrg, Mium n Smll Compnis. Currnt HACCP Rgultory sttus Compny siz n Ys No Futur Without Mntory Voluntry Supplir Customr ($ million/yr) HACCP mnt Lrg ( 50) 79 70.9 26.6 90.5 85.7 36.7 58.2 17.7 49.4 Mium (2.5-49.9) 43 32.6 62.8 59.3 59.3 18.6 74.4 7.0 27.9 Smll ( 2.49) 29 17.2 79.3 8.7 21.7 10.3 82.8 0.0 6.9 All Rsponnts 151 49.7 47.0 52.1 54.9 26.5 67.5 11.3 35.1 Prntg of rsponss for siz tgory. Prntg of rsponss for siz tgory without urrnt HACCP progrms. Ar supplirs rquir to hv HACCP progrms in pl? Dos your ompny nourg your ustomrs to implmnt HACCP? 118 Amrin Mt Sin Assoition
TABLE 3. Rsponss to Intrntionl Mt n Poultry HACCP Allin Survy. Implmnttion of HACCP n Opinions on Rgultory Sttus for Compnis with Vrious Ativitis. Currnt HACCP Rgultory sttus Compny tivity n Ys No Futur Without Mntory Voluntry Supplir Customr HACCP mnt Slughtr 100 53.0 45.0 55.6 60.0 27.0 67.0 10.0 36.0 Prossing 133 48.8 48.1 56.3 46.9 27.1 66.2 9.0 35.3 Foo srvi 46 47.8 47.8 59.1 45.5 19.6 71.7 19.6 56.5 Rtil 46 39.1 58.7 33.3 22.2 21.7 73.9 6.5 21.7 Othr 6 33.3 66.7 0.0 50.0 16.7 83.3 16.7 16.7 All Rsponnts 151 49.7 47.0 52.1 54.9 26.5 67.5 11.3 35.1 Prntg of rsponss for ompny tivity. Prntg of rsponss for ompny tivity without urrnt HACCP progrms. Ar supplirs rquir to hv HACCP progrms in pl? Dos your ompny nourg your ustomrs to implmnt HACCP? mnttion ws influn solly y th ommoity group of prouts or ompny tivity, or if othr ftors wr involv. Svrl rsponnts who woul not implmnt HACCP if not mnt it xpns, lk of mnpowr, lk of HACCP-trin iniviuls, n th ost of trining. Som suggst tht HACCP ws not nssry for thir ompny n tht thir urrnt systm sm to fftiv. Only 11.3% of survy ompnis rquir thir supplirs to hv HACCP plns in pl; howvr, this lvl is highr for lrg ompnis (17.7%) thn for mium (7.0%) or smll ompnis (0.0%). A highr prntg of ompnis involv in foo srvi rquir HACCP plns for thir supplirs (19.6%) thn for slughtr (10.0%), prossing (9.0%) n rtil (6.5%). Only 35.1% of survy ompnis nourg thir ustomrs to utiliz HACCP systms. Approximtly hlf (49.4%) of lrg ompnis rommn HACCP for thir ustomrs, onsirly highr lvl thn mium (27.9%) or smll (6.9%) ompnis. Of ompnis with som foo-srvi tivitis, 56.5% nourg HACCP for thir ustomrs ompr to 36.0% n 35.3% for slughtr n prossing, rsptivly, n only 21.7% for rtil. As rgultors mr th HACCP philosophy, thr hs n som t ovr whthr th HACCP systm shoul mnt for inustry or shoul voluntry. Th mjority of ompnis survy (67.5%) flt tht HACCP shoul voluntry, whil 26.5% flt tht HACCP shoul m mntory. As with HACCP implmnttion, th siz of th rsponing ompny h n fft on thir rspons to this issu. A grtr prntg of lrg ompnis suggst tht HACCP shoul mntory thn tht of mium or smll ompnis. Of lrg ompnis, 36.7% flt tht HACCP shoul mntory, whil 58.2% flt tht it shoul voluntry. In ontrst, only 10.3% of smll ompnis flt tht HACCP shoul mntory, whil 82.8% flt it TABLE 4. Rsponss to Intrntionl Mt n Poultry HACCP Allin Survy. Implmnttion of HACCP n Opinions on Rgultory Sttus for Vrious Commoity Groups. Currnt HACCP Rgultory sttus Commoity group n Ys No Futur Without Mntory Voluntry Supplir Customr HACCP mnt Bf 69 43.5 53.6 37.8 35.1 21.7 72.5 14.5 36.2 Pork 72 38.9 58.3 35.7 33.3 19.4 75.0 12.5 30.6 Lm 35 22.9 74.3 34.6 30.8 20.0 74.3 14.3 14.3 Chikn 94 54.3 42.6 65.0 60.0 27.7 66.0 12.8 38.3 Turky 38 50.0 50.0 42.1 52.6 21.1 76.3 0.0 31.6 Othr 29 55.2 44.8 53.8 43.8 27.5 72.4 13.8 37.9 All Rsponnts 151 49.7 47.0 52.1 54.9 26.5 67.5 11.3 35.1 Prntg of rsponss for ommoity group. Prntg of rsponss for ommoity group without urrnt HACCP progrms. Ar supplirs rquir to hv HACCP progrms in pl? Dos your ompny nourg your ustomrs to implmnt HACCP? 48th Annul Riprol Mt Confrn 119
shoul voluntry. Of mium-siz ompnis, only 18.6% init tht HACCP shoul mntory, whil 74.4% suggst voluntry HACCP. Whn vlut y ommoity group or ompny tivity, opinions wr onsistnt with th ovrll prntgs. Mny who flt tht HACCP shoul voluntry suggst tht th ost of HACCP woul too high. Som wr onrn tht smll ompnis lk th finnil or prsonnl rsours to implmnt HACCP. On rsponnt ssrt if HACCP hppns to plnts our siz, th first thing implmnt woul for-sl sign. But thr woul no uyrs. I m not trying to iffiult; it is just rlity. Othrs suggst tht HACCP rgultion y th USDA is likly not rlisti nor workl. Som init tht th ision to rquir HACCP shoul s upon risk ssssmnt of th prout n pross. Anothr suggstion ws tht HACCP shoul voluntry, with ny HACCP rquirmnts m y ustomrs in spifitions. Svrl ommnt tht mntory HACCP is not nssry, sin th ownr is n shoul ultimtly rsponsil to th ustomr for prout qulity n sfty. Svrl who init tht HACCP shoul mntory ssrt tht HACCP woul not implmnt y ompnis unlss it wr nfor. On rsponnt not in orr for th inustry to implmnt HACCP, it will proly n to mnt through rgultory gnis. W wish it oul voluntry through mrktpl prssur, ut rlistilly it won t. Anothr xprss onrn tht onsumrs woul hv fls onfin in plnts tht lim to HACCP ut us loos intrprttion of th ruls. Othr rsons provi for mntory HACCP wr tht it woul llow th stlishmnt of uniform os throughout th foo inustry n tht HACCP woul for th urrnt insption systm tht FSIS uss to mor sintifi. Compnis urrntly hving HACCP plns wr sk how long thir plns hv n in pl. In mny ss, th lngth of tim vri sin plns for iffrnt prouts wr implmnt t iffrnt tims. Gnrlly, th lngth of tim rng from 1 month to 6 yrs. Som rsponnts rport longr tims (for xmpl, 40 or 42 yrs); howvr, it ws pprnt tht ths rsponnts qut th HACCP systm to th urrnt FSIS insption progrm, or to th ompny s stlish qulity n sfty progrm. Th lngths of tim rport for implmnttion of HACCP plns gnrlly rng from 6 wks to 6 months, with svrl rsponnts rporting 1 to 2 yrs, n on rporting 40 hours. Whn sk how oftn HACCP plns wr r-vlut n moifi, th most ommon rsponss wr (in orr of frquny): nnully (25.0%), vry thr to six months (20.3%), vril (18.8%), ily (17.2%), qurtrly (12.5%), grtr thn on yr (4.7%) n monthly (1.6%). Sixty-svn of th rsponing ompnis rport tht thy hv HACCP-trin iniviul on thir pyroll. In most ss, this woul orrspon to ompnis tht urrntly hv implmnt HACCP plns; howvr, in fw instns ompnis rporting urrntly oprting HACCP plns lso rport hving no HACCP-trin mploys on thir pyroll. Th numr of HACCP-trin iniviuls rport ws highly vril. Mny rport 1 to 12 mploys, whil othrs rport highr numrs, with mny or ll of ompny mploys trin in HACCP. Sours of mploy trining inlu inustry ssoition sminrs, sminrs y FDA or USDA, sminrs sponsor y univrsitis n in-hous trining. Fifty-nin of th ompnis survy (79% of thos with urrnt HACCP plns) rport using miroiologil tsting in thir HACCP progrm. Uss it inlu th vrifition of snittion, vrifition of rw mtrils n supplir progrms, vrifition of ritil ontrol points, trn nlysis, n in-pross n finish-prout nlysis. On rsponnt ssrt tht his ompny s urrnt position is tht most of our miroiologil tsting is for vrifition of our snittion progrm n is for qulity/shlf lif, not for foo sfty. Snittion is prrquisit GMP n os not fll within HACCP plns. Compnis survy wr sk whthr thir HACCP progrms rss issus of sfty only, qulity only or qulity n sfty. Of th 78 ompnis rsponing to this qustion, 47 (60.3%) us HACCP to rss sfty n qulity, 20 (25.6%) to rss sfty only, n 11 (14.1%) to rss qulity only. On rsponnt not tht in th U.S., his ompny s HACCP pln rss sfty only; howvr, for rtin oprtions in th U.K., sfty n qulity issus wr rss. Svrl rsons wr provi whn ompnis wr sk why thy implmnt HACCP progrms. Mny initit HACCP progrms to improv prout sfty n mng prout qulity. Som it rgultory prssur or ustomr rquirmnts. On ompny rspon tht, in ition to mngmnt of prout sfty, HACCP ws implmnt to sll th ompny to outsi ustomrs. Sixty-two ompnis rspon to th qustion of whthr or not HACCP improv thir ottom lin. Of thm, 26 (41.9%) rspon tht it h, 27 (43.5%) rspon tht it h not, n 9 (14.5%) rspon tht thy i not know. Whn sk to provi xmpls of how th ottom lin h improv, th following wr provi: Inrs prout shlf-lif, improv prout onsistny, hlps to mximiz yil. Prvnttiv progrms ru th mount of prout rwork or rnr. Th urn of prout sfty is shr mong mor mploys. Critil ontrol points r sir to monitor thn xtnsiv prout tsting. Groun f spoilg lims ru y $100,000 in on plnt ftr implmnting HACCP. Numrous ustomrs hos us s supplir us of our HACCP systms. 120 Amrin Mt Sin Assoition
A lrgr numr of forign ojts r foun y mploys on th lin s rsult of hightn wrnss HACCP hs rought. By tting vitions n ringing thm to plnt mngmnt s ttntion, w hv n l to voi shipping qustionl prout. Amount of rjt prout hs n ru. Rsponss to this qustionnir hv monstrt som of th onrns, s wll s som of th vntgs, of HACCP implmnttion. Th mjority of survy ompnis hs not yt implmnt HACCP, n if rgultors o in mnt HACCP, mny of ths ompnis will n th nourgmnt n thnil support nssry to pply th systm to thir oprtions. It ws pprnt tht som of th rsponnts to th qustionnir misunrstoo wht th HACCP systm is. It is possil tht mny ompnis hv not yt utiliz HACCP us thy o not unrstn th HACCP pross n why it is vlul, rgrlss of th intntions of th rgultory ommunity. Mny smll ompnis hv rlisti onrn ovr th ost of HACCP implmnttion, trining n mintnn in thir oprtions. If HACCP is to mr n sussfully implmnt throughout th mt n poultry inustry, th onrns n rsour ns of smll ompnis must rss. Th futur of HACCP implmnttion will pn upon fftiv ommunition twn rgultors, th foo inustry n th mi ommunity. REFERENCES FDA. 1994. Foo n Drug Aministrtion. 21 CFR Prts 123 n 1240. Proposl to Estlish Prours for th Sf Prossing n Importing of Fish n Fishry Prouts; Propos Rul. F. Rg. 59:4142. FDA. 1994. Foo n Aministrtion. 21 CFR Ch. 1. Foo n Sfty Assurn progrm; Dvlopmnt of Hzr Anlysis Critil Control Points; Propos Rul. F. Rg. 59:39888. USDA. 1995. Foo Sfty n Insption Srvi. 9 CFR Prts 308, 310, 318, 320, 325, 326, 327 n 381. Pthogn Rution; Hzr Anlysis n Critil Control Point (HACCP) systms. Propos Rul. F. Rg. 60:6774. 48th Annul Riprol Mt Confrn 121