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Develop and Implement A Food Safety Plan
Develop and Implement A Food Safety Plan
1. What are the requirements for food businesses with regards to a food safety plan
The food safety standards aim to lower the incidence of food borne illness. They
place obligations on Australian food businesses to produce food that is safe and
suitable to eat, and also place health and hygiene obligations on food handlers.
Requirements
2. You are in the process of developing a food safety program. What does this
A HACCP Team can be defined as being a group of people who have adequate
skills and knowledge applicable to the development and implementation of a
HACCP based food safety program. The requirement to assemble a HACCP team
is documented in Codex HACCP at preliminary step 1 – Assemble the HACCP
team.
b) Describe the products
First, the HACCP team provides a general description of the food, ingredients and
processing methods. Then the method of distribution should be described along
with information on whether the food is to be distributed frozen, refrigerated or at
ambient temperature.
The use should be based on the expected uses of the product by the end user or
consumer. In specific cases, vulnerable groups of the population, e.g. institutional
feeding, may have to be considered.
The flow diagram should provide a clear, simple outline of all the steps involved in
the process that are directly under the control of the establishment. (The flow
diagram can also include steps in the food chain which come before and after the
processing that occurs in the establishment.)
The HACCP team should next conduct a hazard analysis to identify for the
HACCP plan which hazards are of such a nature that their elimination or reduction
to acceptable levels is essential to the production of a safe food.
the likely occurrence of hazards and severity of their adverse health effects;
the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the presence of hazards;
survival or multiplication of microorganisms of concern;
production or persistence in foods of toxins, chemicals or physical agents;
and,
conditions leading to the above.
The HACCP team must then consider what control measures, if any, exist which
can be applied for each hazard.
A critical control point is defined as a step at which control can be applied and is
essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable
level. The potential hazards that are reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in
the absence of their control must be addressed in determining CCPs.
One strategy to facilitate the identification of each CCP is the use of a CCP
decision tree. (Keep in mind that a decision tree is merely a tool; it is not a
mandatory element of HACCP, nor is it a substitute for expert knowledge.)
Chilling
Thermal processing
Product formulation control
Testing ingredients for chemical residues
Testing product for metal contaminants
Temperature
Time
Physical dimensions
Humidity
Moisture level
Water activity
Verification is defined as those activities, other than monitoring, that determine the
validity of the HACCP plan and that the system is operating according to the plan.
Generally, the records maintained for the HACCP System should include the
following:
3. You have decided on monitoring systems for each Critical Control Point and
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a system which provides the
framework for monitoring the total food system for each Critical Control Point and
established corrective actions. Since its inception in the 1960s as part of space
travel, the application of HACCP principles has expanded throughout the food
industry. The Food Safety Modernization Act (December 2010) is expected to lead
to further adoption of the concept. This page briefly introduces the concept of
HACCP and its evolution into a Food Safety Plan.
Focuses on identifying and preventing hazards that may render food unsafe
is based on sound science
permits more efficient and effective government oversight, primarily
because the recordkeeping allows investigators to see how well a firm is
complying with food safety laws and following practices that reduce the risk
of unsafe food over a period rather than how well it is doing on any given
day
places responsibility for ensuring food safety appropriately on the food
manufacturer or distributor
helps food companies compete more effectively in the world market
reduces barriers to international trade.
4. Due to a number of staff absences, you are required to rotate different staff
through the larder section to temporarily fill the positions. How will you ensure
these staff will follow the requirements set out in the food safety program relevant
for the larder section? What would this require in terms of record keeping?
To ensure these staff will follow the requirements set out in the food safety
program relevant for the larder section by:
Food Service staff will receive Food Safety training provided by State or local food
service authorities.
• Staff and volunteers will receive a written copy of this policy in their orientation
packets before beginning work at the center.
They will need to be consistent in record keeping for review to ensure that
everything is in order.
5. You have implemented the food safety program. Provide details of what will
you need to do to ensure all aspects are followed correctly.
6. Your sous-chef informs you that an uncontrolled food hazard has occurred
which could have critical implications if not attended to swiftly. What will be your
actions including administrative requirements?
Try to find out the cause of the hazard and ways to control it
Contains protein
8. What are the environmental conditions and storage temperatures for the main
9. List four (4) techniques which can be used to monitor food safety and provide 1
example for each. What would this require when temperatures are measured
and/or monitored?
The head chef monitoring and recording items produced by others to ensure that
they meet acceptable standards and quality. • Temperature logs of equipment, such
as fridges and freezers. • Cleaning schedules and completed documentation. •
Maintenance records and requests. • Records regarding health and safety
10. List the three (3) main types of food contamination and provide examples of
how
11. What are the common conditions for the development of microbiological
controlled or prevented.
Materials access must be via specified routes – generally via air locks.
The temperature danger zone is food temperatures between 41 and 135 degrees
Fahrenheit, and the most rapid bacteria growth occurs between 70 and 125 degrees
Fahrenheit
13. What is the two-hour and four-hour rule applied to hazardous foods which have
The 2 Hour / 4 Hour Rule tells you how long freshly potentially hazardous foods *,
foods like cooked meat and foods containing meat, dairy products, prepared fruits
and vegetables, cooked rice and pasta, and cooked or processed foods containing
eggs, can be safely held at temperatures in the danger zone
14. What is the requirement for the 2 hour/4 hour guide which applies to ready-to-
eat, potentially hazardous food? How is this calculated and what needs to be done
according to the time is exposed in the danger zone?
Food held between 5°C and 60°C for less than 2 hours can be used, sold or
put back in the refrigerator to use later.
Food held between 5°C and 60°C for 2-4 hours can still be used or sold, but
can’t be put back in the fridge.
Food held between 5°C and 60°C for 4 hours or more must be thrown away.
Studies show that food can be safely held out of temperature control for short
periods of time without significantly increasing the risk of food poisoning. The
time that food can be safely held between 5°C and 60°C is referred to as the ‘4-
hour/2-hour rule.
15. Create a cleaning schedule (or use an existing one) relevant to your work area
and the food safety plan you will develop for assessment 2 in this unit of
Before you can decide when to clean you must first know what to clean, and how
often. Thus before you can create a cleaning schedule that works for your life and
your schedule, you need to assess your own home and cleaning needs.
STEP 2: PICK THE BEST PLAN FOR YOU (CHOOSE ONE)
The next thing you need to do is figure out what sort of cleaning plan will work
best for your life and your schedule. Are you the kind of person who wants to do a
little every day, or would you rather tackle it all at once so that you don’t have to
think about it for the rest of the week.
16. List the six (6) high risk customer groups who are more susceptible to harm
from food contamination and explain the reasons for the risk for each group:
Some customer groups are particularly susceptible to food poisoning, and the
dangers it presents. When preparing food for any of the following groups, take
extra special care to avoid contamination:
4. Pregnant Women
Pregnant women external icon are more likely than other people to get sick from
certain germs.
Children: Children are more susceptible to food borne illnesses, as their immune
systems are still developing and are not as strong as adults.
The elderly: Older people are more susceptible to food poisoning, as when you get
older, your immune system and natural defense are weakened.
17. What is the role of local government in determining audit requirements for
food safety plans? How often does this occur and which aspects do inform audit
frequency and by whom these are undertaken?
i. assist the auditor to conduct an audit and carry out his or her other
duties under the Act; and
ii. ensure that audits are conducted successfully and expeditiously;
b. a local government is to meet with its auditor at least once in every year;
c. a local government is to examine the report of the auditor and is to:
19. What is the purpose of food safety records during audits? What are the record
It is all well and good to have information written down, but if you cannot read it
or it is not legible it may cause some issues during the food certification audit
process. A food business should consider language used, the medium to which the
information is recorded for example paper, video or electronically and also the
ability for the information not to diminish or fade over time.
The record keeping requirements for food safety records and audit reports are:
20. A food safety program must include information about the review of the
program. Which details does this need to include?
Provide for the regular review of the program by the food business to ensure
its adequacy.
Identify all potential food safety hazards that may be reasonably expected
to occur in the food business’ operations
Identify solutions for controlling these hazards
Include daily records that demonstrate regular measurement and
observation for each of the controls
Provide procedures for corrective action when a hazard is found to not be
under control
21. List three (3) types of records which must be kept by a business to demonstrate
1. Employment records
2. Safety records
The following health and safety records should be kept in a separate file for easy
access and reference:
complaints;
incidents;
risk management analysis;
training details;
safety committee minutes; and
copies of specific management committee resolutions.
3. Insurance records
22. What are the legal requirements for food safety records to demonstrate that a
business is complying with the food safety program?
food safety law requires every food business operator (FBO) to carry out a
verifiable risk assessment of their own operation, identifying all potential food
safety risks and then taking steps to manage them. This approach, which focuses
on preventing food safety issues occurring rather than policing them after they
have happened, implicitly requires FBOs to keep records of the steps they are
taking to prove that they are in compliance with the law. The form and extent of
these records will, of course, depend on the operation in question. For example,
any food being held hot for serving must be kept above 63°C and, similarly, any
chilled food must be kept below 8°C.