HACCP and self-checking — food safety in production

Food companies in Denmark must, according to the Food Authority's rules, base their self-inspection on HACCP principles after the primary production step — that is, in the company that processes or produces the food itself. HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, in Danish risk analysis and critical control points.

HACCP is a systematic method for identifying, assessing and managing the hazards — biological, chemical and physical — that can threaten food safety in a given production. Instead of only checking the finished product afterwards, the method builds control into the process itself, where the hazard arises or can be eliminated.

• 01Make a list of contractor, construction and paving firms in your area
• 02Find the critical control points (CCP) where the hazard can and must be controlled
• 03Establish a critical limit for each CCP
• 04Monitor CCPs continuously
• 05Establish what corrective action must occur if the limit is exceeded
• 06Verify at regular intervals that the system actually works
• 07Document the entire course

The Food Authority's guidance on self-inspection requires that the company's self-inspection consists of a written risk analysis, fixed procedures for self-inspection and documentation that the inspection has actually been carried out. But HACCP only makes sense when the basic conditions — so-called PRPs like cleaning, pest control, personal hygiene and maintenance — are already in place. Without them, even the best critical control points will be insufficient.

If something goes wrong during startup, then correct only one thing before testing again. If you change several things at once, afterwards you don't know what solved the problem.

“HACCP is about preventing hazards before they reach someone's dinner table — not about discovering them afterwards.”