Ensuring a safe mushroom product : the HACCP approach

Abstract

The HACCP concept was developed in the 1960s as a system to ensure the safety of food products. The HACCP can be defined as a system which identifies, evaluates and controls hazards which are significant for food safety. Its introduction signaled a shift in emphasis from end product testing to preventive control at all stages of food production. The HACCP system was initially developed for use by food processors for preventing food-borne hazards. However, the application of the HACCP system has been expanding to form a basis for regulated food control and as a standard for international food trade. It is being promoted internationally as a preventive system of hazard control that is considered to he the most effective and efficient way to ensure food safety. It is an action oriented programme to identify and reduce food-borne diseases. It is based on the belief that by gathering knowledge and experience relating to a food product and process, it is possible to predict food hazards, how and where they might occur, and what steps are required to prevent them from occurring. The HACCP system consists of the following seven principles: (i) Conduct a hazard analysis; (ii) Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs); (iii) Establish critical limits; (iv) Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP; (v) Establish the corrective action to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular CCP is not under control; (vi) Establish procedure for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively; and (vii) Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application. The aim of this thesis was to use the HACCP concept to provide an effective and rational means of assuring food safety from the composting stage, harvesting to packing, using this particular mushroom farm as a generic model to implement the HACCP system, as no real quality systems are in place. These broad scientific principles would provide a basis suitable for a mushroom production system to provide a safe and quality product. This study would provide a generic guide and could suggest hazards and controls common to the mushroom food businesses and assist the managers or the HACCP teams through the process of producing food safety procedures or methods and appropriate record keeping. The mushroom business operators should be aware however that other hazards may be present, e.g. those linked to the layout of their establishment or to the process that is applied, and that such hazards cannot be predicted in a generic HACCP guide. When generic HACCP guides are used there still is a need for additional examination for the possible presence of such hazards and the methods to control them.