Critical Control Points In Food Production: An Ultimate Guide

Are you planning to start a food production business? Then, you might know about the essentials of food safety and critical control points (CCP)! 

Well, to operate food production and become successful in this industry, you should recognize CCP. This will help you to maintain food quality from production to distribution. 

Want to know in detail? Let’s dive in to learn about the definition of CCP, control measures, principle HACCP plan, etc. 

What Is A Critical Control Point (CCP)?  

In a food production process, a Critical Control Point (CCP) is applied to minimize and erase food safety hazards. Identifying CCPs is crucial in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. This way, it ensures food safety from production to consumption. 

In addition, CCPs are specific points like cooking, cooling, or packaging, where failure to manage risks can lead to contamination or unsafe products. Some of the examples of CCPs in food-producing systems are-

• Pasteurization: This means warming milk at a particular time and temperature to kill harmful bacteria. 
• Cooking: Heating meat to a certain temperature until the bacteria die. 
• Freezing: Store food items in the freezer to save from bacterial growth.
• pH level: Control food pH level so that bacteria can’t survive.
• Temperature control: It is necessary while food is stored and transported for the buyer. This eliminates fungal growth. 
• Microbial testing: This is placed while packing or distributing the food products. It tests the bacteria like listeria and salmonella. 
• Metal detection: Check foods with a metal detector for metal contaminants while packing them. 

What Are Control Measures?  

With control measures, you can reduce food safety hazards. The control measures can be a process, activity, task, and step toward food safety. More specifically, control measures mean that not all dangers, like contamination and bacterial growth, can’t be prevented. However, with it, you can manage and control all hazards. 

Some of the control measures are-

1. Critical Control Point (CCP)
2. Control Points (CP)
3. Critical Control Point (CCP)
4. Prerequisite Programs (PRP)

Differences Between CCP, CP, OPRP, And PRP  

Let’s see here some of the key differences between CCP, CP, OPRP, And PRP in the section below- 

CCP

As you already know, CCP refers to critical control points that are necessary for reducing food hazards. The CCP can be any task or action you take to save food for the store and supply it from production. 

CP

Unlike CCP, CP is a less critical and easy method to ensure food safety. For example, washing ingredients like potatoes before starting the cooking process. This way, you will clean the physical and biological hazards. 

OPRP

Operation Prerequisite Program (OPRP or ORP) controls the probability of the risk of food hazards. The process is not critical but necessary for the safety of the food. It is mainly clean and maintains proper hygiene in the food and production area. 

PRP

PRP stands for prerequisite programs, which means maintaining the basic task of cleaning the whole food factory strictly. This includes workers handwashing systems, hygiene, sanitary conditions, and more. This way, you can ensure the quality of the food and standard operating systems. 

The most common PRPs are-

• Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP)
• The layout of the premises
• Washing and sanitizing
• Construction of the building
• Traceability 
• Receiving goods 
• Measures for the prevention of cross-contamination
• Production machinery
• Pest control
• Water, air, power supplies
• Staff hygiene

A Quick Chart Of Differences Between CCP, CP, OPRP, And PRP

Critical Control Point Decision Trees  

A CCP decision tree is a tool used in HACCP systems to systematically determine which steps in a food production process are critical control points. It consists of a series of questions that are answered sequentially to identify steps where significant food safety hazards can be controlled to an acceptable level.

Some of the questions of the decision tree included-

1. Can the significant hazard be controlled by prerequisite programs?
2. Do specific control measures exist for the identified hazard at this step?
3. Will a subsequent step prevent or eliminate the hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level?
4. Can this step prevent or eliminate the hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level?

Typical Food Production Critical Control Points  

There are many critical control points in food production. The most common safety issues are-

Physical Testing

With physical testing in food production, you can detect several contaminations like dirt, insects, hair, and debris at control points. At the same time, rodent waste is also turned into a biological safety risk, so pest control is necessary. Otherwise, when you do not maintain physical testing effectively, the food can get spoiled.

Microbiological Testing

Microbiological testing means killing harmful bacteria from raw items by cooking at a certain temperature. For instance, you can kill the salmonella bacteria from chicken at a minimum of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Also, by making food frozen, you can reduce the growth of microorganisms. With formulation control, you can maintain microbiological like applying preservatives natural and artificial. 

Chemical Testing

This is another critical control point for food production. You can use food additives to increase food shelf life. Again, freezing and cooking can save the food from chemicals. Often, storing the food can cause hazards like using less pH to pack tomatoes, which ruins them.  

Why Do You Need To Identify CCPs In Food Production?  

You should identify CCPs to save food from fungal and other bacteria and maintain its quality. The main reason should be-

Avoid Food Hazards: As you already know, food production can face several safety hazards from creation to consumption. So, when you identify the CCPs in food items, you can extend their shelf life and save against bacteria. These include sanitation protocols, temperature monitoring, contamination prevention, etc. 

Ensuring Compliance with Regulatory Standards: Institutions like the FDA make rules to keep people safe. And food production has to follow these rules without any exceptions. So, by setting up CCPs, you can show that your products are meeting these standards. This way, you will avoid fines and protect your reputation.

Enhancing Product Quality and Consistency: From temperature to pH values, if you monitor these critical points, you can extend the product’s shelf life. Also, consistency in food quality builds customer trust and company loyalty, and those lead to success. 

7 Principles Of The HACCP Plan 

For implementation, the HACCP plan is based on 7 principles specified by ISO 22000, the standard for food safety management systems. These HACCP principles include-

1. Perform A Hazard Analysis

This principle involves identifying potential chemical, biological, and physical issues that could compromise food safety at various stages of the production process. The HACCP team must evaluate the ingredients, processing steps, and storage methods to create a comprehensive list of hazards. The analysis distinguishes between significant hazards that require control and those that do not, ensuring that the plan addresses only relevant risks.

2. Identify Critical Control Points

It is a process or task where critical control can be applied to prevent or reduce safety hazards of food items. You can use a decision tree to facilitate the determination of CCPs. The questions can be-

• Is this step avoidable?
• What are the right ways to reduce risks?
• Which techniques can be used?

3. Establish Critical Limits

By creating maximum and minimum values for each control measure associated with a CCP, you can avoid contamination hazards. The limit has to depend on regulatory and scientific considerations like time, water activity, temperature, pH, and more. 

Specifically, while transporting the food item, what temperature is needed to save the food from contamination? This way, you can determine critical limits and follow them during storage, production, and other things. 

4. Develop Monitoring Procedures

Monitoring systems are necessary to ensure that each CCP stays within its established critical restriction. This defines how, when, and by whom monitoring will occur. So, you need to employ experienced staff for monitoring, as regular observation helps detect any deviations from the critical limits. It allows for timely corrective actions.

5. Formulate Corrective Actions

This step comes after the monitoring procedure; suppose the critical limits are not met. Then, corrective actions need to be taken. This principle outlines the procedures to follow when deviations occur. For instance, steps can be taken to prevent unsafe food from entering the food supply, and measures can be taken to rectify the situation.

6. Establish Verification Procedures

Verification processes are activities that confirm the HACCP plan is functioning correctly. It conducts audits, monitors records, and tests to ensure that the system operates according to the established plan. This way, you can establish that the HACCP system is efficient in controlling hazards.

7. Maintain Record Keeping And Documentation

Last but not least, accurate record-keeping is essential for demonstrating that the HACCP system is working as intended. Documentation should include details of the hazard analysis, CCP identification, monitoring results, and verification systems. This information is necessary for audits and regulatory compliance.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you are not confused regarding critical control points in food production after reading the whole article! By identifying and determining the CCP, you can avoid food safety hazards, extended shelf life, and more. Otherwise, you can lose customers and your brand and get punished legally.