Implementation of HACCP at retail food service facilities

摘要

In retail HACCP implementation we encounter numerous barriers that may not be included in the food-processing arena. During HACCP implementation at all three locations we observed, company culture is a significant barrier. Culture will be defined in this instance as the present perception of what is safe food and what is significant in that process. It was evident that in all three retail operations the definition of safe food handling ran the gamut from personal hygiene to regulatory mandated internal cooking temperatures. Most prevalent among all three groups was the necessity for proper handwashing. The least significant would be necessity for sampling. The logic behind this was if we have to submit our products for testing, why do we need a HACCP system? The reasoning was that this was a repetitious process. In regards to culture, all the facilities placed greater emphasis on the Prerequisite programs then the HACCP Principles. We will use the culture issue in comparisons of other components of the food safety system. Another significant barrier was that of communication. The language of HACCP may be secondary for the HACCP Registrar/Certification provider but is often confusing and nonsensical to the operator. Even with significant training time the fact that the transition to a HACCP based system is often difficult due to acronyms and the terms used in HACCP that are not part of the retail culinary language. The most significant barrier was that of time. Presently most HACCP Registrar/Certification Providers deal with food processors that have Quality Assurance departments or HACCP Specialist. The retail sector usually selects a food and beverage manger, executive chef or corporate trainers to manage the HACCP Program. The time requirements of HACCP implementation especially auditing are tremendous with the registration process consuming 24 man-hours. Typically this time requirement will result in a potential conflict between revenue producing activity opposed to non-revenue activity. In the retail food service world non-revenue producing activity is severly limited to only essential activities such as accounting, human resources and regulatory requirements. HACCP providers must schedule the activities around the needs of the operator. This may result in some down time especially during the audit process but the auditor and provider should be prepared for this situation. Unlike food processing the retail operator usually serves the customer on-site therefore the service of the customer far outweighs the requirements of the auditor or HACCP Provider.