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HACCP
Summary

HACCP is a tool to control food hygiene and ensure food safety. HACCP systems are being used in the food sector and applicable to companies that process, treat, pack, transport, distribute foodstuffs. Food safety is a legal requirement for import of all foodstuff to the EU, and HACCP is one of the few systems that can guarantees this.
Objective  Is the focus of the standard on economic, social, environmental, food safety or organic issues?
 Food safety
Why?  Who is asking you to use this system? Is it a market requirement or a voluntary system?
 Minimum requirement:. All food processors in the EU are legally bound to have an HACCP system in place or they must be working on implementing an HACCP system.
Scope of the standard  What kind of processes within your organisation/company should be changed according to the standard’s criteria? Most systems look at the production process, and/or look at the processing of the produce. Some systems look at organisational processes as well, e.g. if democratic structures are in place, how support departments are organized (HRM/financial), if internal control systems are in place, if ILO labour conditions are implemented, etcetera. Additionally the processes of your suppliers or service provider can be part of the standards’ scope as well. This means that you are responsible for the sustainability of their (or part of their) actions as well.
organisational processes N
(on-farm) production N
processing Y
supplier/service provider Y
Who can apply?  Not every code or standard can be used by every actor within the supply chain. Some are just targeted to a specific group within the chain, others focus on the complete chain. You can think of the following parties: producers/producer group, processor, exporter/trader, importer, retailer.  
producers/producer groups N
processor Y: The HACCP system is applicable to companies which process, treat, pack, transport, distribute or trade foodstuffs.
exporter/trader N
importer N
retail Y
Products  Most systems focus on specific products, product groups or sectors. Please look carefully if you produce falls under the scope of the standard.
 Processed and packed food.
Markets  Although most systems are used worldwide, they often have their origin or focus in a specific country or region. Some countries/regions prefer a certain code or standard.
 Food processing industry and retail in EU.
Benefits  A very legitimate question is what this specific certification means to you. Does it provide you access to markets, or even to niche markets? Does it guarantee a better price, or maybe even a premium on top of a minimum price? Does it create better access to support services?  
market access Access to EU market: you need to have HACCP, BRC or ISO22000 in place when you want to export to EU.
access to niche market N
premium N
other N
Support services  To be able to comply with the requirements of such systems, you may need some support. Various experts in the field of certification are available and can give this (paid/free) support. Yes commercially available.
Adaptations/investments   Hygiene requirements such as:
Risk assessment
Lay out of pack house
Use of building materials (walls and floors covered with tiles)
Packing machinery or tables of stainless stee
Instruction to workers
Clothing of workers
Costs & Time  Working with these certification systems and implementing the necessary steps is often not an easy task. You have to be aware of the many implications and adaptations you may have to make. This section gives some examples of the kind of investments you to have to think of. Costs are based on company size, scope and complexity of operation. The cost structure is also based on the minimum audit time on site. It is therefore difficult to state exact fees in advance. Costs differs from certifier to certifier. Ask for quotations and compare prices/services
System characteristics  In this section you will find a link to the standard itself and some main points of attention.
 All food processors in the EU are legally bound to have an HACCP system in place or they must be working on implementing an HACCP system.
For the HACCP system click here
Verification    
internal inspection Internal audit cycle necessary before external verification.
external inspection Variety of private certification bodies.
Type of label  One of ways to show that a product complies with a specific standard is to label it. Some codes or standards do not use a label at all. Nevertheless, most choose to carry a Business to Business (B2B) or a Consumer label.
 B2B
Who's behind it?  What is the origin of the standard, and who has initiated the idea? Who is the owner of the certification system?
 EU legislation
Trends  The trend section is mainly based on future perspectives of the standard. Are they going to expand to other products, other markets? Is there increasing interest from markets for this specific certification? What can you expect in the coming period?
 For bigger companies that maintain (ISO 9001) quality management systems, it is likely that they move to ISO22000 that integrates quality management with HACCP.
Smaller processors, packers and retail are expected to remain with HACCP only.
Contact
  website European Commission
   
all certification systems

 
 
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