Module 8: Food Safety Management Systems

Food safety management systems are a group of practices and procedures intended to prevent foodborne illness. They control the risks and hazards that may be present throughout the Flow of Food in a food service operation.

The foundation of a food safety management system is:
1. Good personal hygiene practices;
2. Food Safety Training Program;
3. Supplier Selection and Specification Program;
4. Quality Control and Assurance Program;
5. Cleaning and Sanitation Program;
6. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP);
7. Facility Design and Equipment Maintenance Program;
8. Pest Control Program.

Active Managerial Control focuses on controlling the five most common risk factors for foodborne illness:
1. Purchasing food from unsafe sources;
2. Failing to cook food adequately;
3. Holding food at incorrect temperatures;
4. Using contaminated equipment;
5. Practicing poor personal hygiene.

To achieve active managerial control in the food service operation use: A) Training Programs; B) Managerial Supervision; C) Incorporation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP); D) Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan.

These are critical to the success of active managerial control: monitoring critical activities in the food service operation; taking the necessary corrective action when required; verifying that the actions taken control the risk factors.

The FDA provides recommendations for controlling the common risk factors for foodborne illness: demonstration of knowledge; staff health controls; controlling hands as a vehicle of contamination; time and temperature parameters for controlling pathogens; consumer advisories. The HACCP approach is based on identifying significant biological, chemical, or physical hazards at specific points within a product’s flow through an operation. Once identified, those hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to safe levels.

To be effective, a HACCP system MUST be based on a written plan. It must be specific to the variables within each facility’s: a) menu, b) customers, c) equipment, d) processes, and e) operations. A plan that works for one food service operation may not work for another due to those variables.

The seven HACCP principles:
1. Conduct a hazard analysis
2. Determine critical control points (CCPs)
3. Establish critical limits
4. Establish monitoring procedures
5. Identify corrective actions
6. Verify that the system works
7. Establish procedures for record keeping and documentation

These specialized processing methods require a variance and may require a HACCP plan:
• Smoking food as a method to preserve it (but not to enhance flavor)
• Using food additives or components such as vinegar to preserve or alter food so it no longer requires time and temperature control for safety
• Curing food
• Custom-processing (wild) animals
• Packaging food using the Reduced Oxygen Packaging (ROP) (including: MAP, vacuum packed, and Sous vide) methods
• Treating (e.g., pasteurized) juice on-site and packaging it for later sale
• Sprouting seeds or beans