What is HACCP? - HAM Systems store

What is HACCP?

Cold room logging system with instant alerts

Temperature control in food production and preservation is important to ensure food quality but especially to maintain consumer safety.

As a business, it is your responsibility to strictly follow food safety guidelines for temperature and humidity control.

This quality and safety assurance is what the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system is intended to safeguard.

By controlling the temperature, you can control the levels of bacteria that spoil food and cause illness. Heat kills bacteria, while low temperatures slow down the growth of bacteria to prevent them from reaching harmful levels.

Why is HACCP control required?

The quality of food depends on both the quality of the raw materials used and the manufacturing process of the product.

It is known that it can be compromised by failure to maintain the temperature of the product at an appropriate level at any part of the cold chain, including storage, transport, distribution and display in retail outlets.

Such operational failures can lead to customer dissatisfaction and damage the company's image with a direct impact on its finances.

This systematic approach is the basis for HACCP control, which aims to identify the key points (Critical Control Points) for the prevention, reduction or elimination of all possible physical, chemical and biological hazards that may occur in a foodstuff during its production process.

A failure in a refrigeration system, for example, may, if the owner is not notified immediately, lead to the loss of part or all of the stored product/raw material.

If you are involved in food preparation or cooking, it is your responsibility to keep food out of the danger zone using approved methods for cooling, heating and storing food.

HACCP is based on seven principles:

  • Conduct a hazard analysis: Identify potential hazards that could affect food safety during production, processing, or handling.
  • Determine critical control points (CCPs): Identify points in the process where controls can be applied to prevent or eliminate the hazard.
  • Establish critical limits: Set measurable limits (e.g., temperature, time) for each CCP to ensure safety.
  • Establish monitoring procedures: Develop systems to monitor the CCPs and ensure that they stay within the critical limits.
  • Establish corrective actions: Define steps to be taken if a CCP is not under control, i.e., if the critical limits are exceeded.
  • Establish verification procedures: Confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively by reviewing records and conducting audits.
  • Establish record-keeping and documentation: Maintain detailed records of all procedures and monitoring activities to ensure accountability and traceability.

What is considered a risk?

    • Temperature

    Temperature risk zone for the growth of microorganisms is considered between 5oC and 63oC. Fungi that are resistant to low temperatures are excluded. As a general rule, the lower the preservation temperature, the longer the shelf life of a product (when it makes sense to keep it frozen of course).

    • Humidity

    High ambient humidity means the possibility of creating water vapour, which leads to an increase in the internal humidity of the food and a reduction in its shelf life and quality.

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    I want to have automatic recording of the status of my wards

    With the HAM HumiSense device, all you need is Wi-Fi in the room and a refrigerator to install the sensor.

    Installation is easy, but it is recommended that it be done by an professional installer who knows about chambers to avoid any damage during installation, and that the sensor be placed in a suitable location (near the factory chamber, away from the door).

    The device will collect data automatically, at very regular intervals, and the data will be stored on the platform for free. Thus, the user will have real-time monitoring of the chamber's status and also print in pdf or csv the recordings whenever they want.

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    I want to be informed immediately in case of a failure

    By setting the appropriate rules on our platform, you have the ability to be notified instantly in any circumstances you choose.

    Examples:

    • IF someone left the door open  THEN send me an SMS
    • IF the temperature has exceeded 4 degrees FOR more THAN 15 minutes THEN notify me by phone call
    • IF the device is disconnected THEN send me an email that the power is probably out!

    There are four ways to be notified by our system:

    • e-mail 📧
    • push notification 🔔
    • SMS 💬
    • phone call 📞

     

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