HACCP Hazard analysis and critical control point 2

NASA’s own requirements for critical control points (CCP) in engineering management would be used as a guide for food safety. CCP derived from failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) from NASA via the munitions industry to test weapon and engineering system reliability. Using that information, NASA and Pillsbury required contractors to identify “critical failure areas” and eliminate them from the system, a first in the food industry then. Baumann, a microbiologist by training, was so pleased with Pillsbury’s experience in the space program that he advocated for his company to adopt what would become HACCP at Pillsbury.

Soon, Pillsbury was confronted with a food safety issue of its own when glass contamination was found in farina, a cereal commonly used in infant food. Baumann’s leadership promoted HACCP in Pillsbury for producing commercial foods, and applied to its own food production. This led to a panel discussion at the 1971 National Conference on Food Protection that included examining CCPs and good manufacturing practices in producing safe foods. Several botulism cases were attributed to under-processed low-acid canned foods in 1970–71. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked Pillsbury to organize and conduct a training program on the inspection of canned foods for FDA inspectors. This 21-day program was first held in September 1972 with 11 days of classroom lecture and 10 days of canning plant evaluations. Canned food regulations (21 CFR 108, 21 CFR 110, 21 CFR 113, and 21 CFR 114) were first published in 1969. Pillsbury’s training program, which was submitted to the FDA for review in 1969, entitled “Food Safety through the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System” was the first use of the acronym HACCP.

HACCP was initially set on three principles, now shown as principles one, two, and four in the section below. Pillsbury quickly adopted two more principles, numbers three and five, to its own company in 1975. It was further supported by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) when they wrote that the FDA inspection agency should transform itself from reviewing plant records into an HACCP system compliance auditor.

Over the period 1986 to 1990, a team consisting of National Sea Products and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans developed the first mandatory food inspection programme based on HACCP principles in the world. Together, these Canadian innovators developed and implemented a Total Quality Management Program and HACCP plans for all their groundfish trawlers and production facilities.