Hi guys,

This is my first post in this section, I have a problem.

We are an allround injection moulder. One of our products is a plastic spoon that gets supplied by our customer alongside kiwifruit.

Now their customer is putting them under the cosh, and them to us likewise, and for the first time ever, I heard of HACCP.

Management very quickly responded saying we will get HACCP certifcation, and afterwards, I was asked to look into it.

Well, I can find lots of info and guidelines - some very helpful. but;

All this gumf doesnt actually say to me what it is. Is it a standard? Is it as simple as creating a specified control-type plan for this product?

I cannot find anywhere in black and white that says what it is.

I know in the US its a lot bigger and more official like than in NZ so im not sure how much help I can get here.
Its a product which we mould for around 2 weeks per year, around 1m units - of which we trim, pack, and send to our client.

Ive attached the NZ food safety authorities documentation for viewing.

many thanks in advance,

HACCP stands for "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" is a systematic method to analyze food processing and to identify undesirable / hazardous inclusion of chemical, physical, or biological agents into foods.

HACCP ensures that the organization meets the basic requirements in having an effective food safety and good practices (cGMPs) and thus demonstrating competence in food safety. HACCP is accepted by various International organizations like United Nations "CODEX Alimentarius", USA FDA, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and others.

You could get certified to ISO 22000 (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=35466) and could refer to the guidance document, ISO 9001 - Guidelines for food and drink Industry (http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease?refid=Ref807) in which there is a reference to ISO 15161.

Cheers, but in human terms, is a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point similar to an FMEA or control plan? from what ive read it seems like such a document?

Cheers, but in human terms, is a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point similar to an FMEA or control plan? from what ive read it seems like such a document?

In a way YES :)

HACCP focuses on identifying and preventing hazards from contaminating food. Did you have a look at the US FDA website that details the HACCP (http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/haccp.html) ?

Your product is basically defined as a single-use food contact article and because it is meant to have direct contacts with the end product prior to final consumption, it is really appropriate that the production of these plastic spoons be managed systematically using an effective HACCP Plan.

I had recently taken an organization involved in production of single-use paper cups to ISO 22000 Certification and you may find that if your clients are exporting, you have to meet regulatory requirements such as:
Germany Law BfR AIII & XXXXVI or
US FDA Title 21 Part 178 or
EU Regulation Framework 1935 /2004/EC

You have a choice of going for either the basic Codex-HACCP or new ISO 22000 Standard or BRC-IOP while the latter two contain the basic HACCP Plan within.
Regards.