Meat inspection protocols - Gracey's Meat Hygiene - page 217

Production

Tr ansporting

Holding

Slaughtering

(Cattle, sheep, goats, horses) (Pigs)

Skinning CCP 2 Scalding CCP 2

Eviscerating CCP 2 Dehairing

Washing Singeing CCP 2

Polishing

Chilling CCP 1

Tr ansporting CCP 2 Eviscerating CCP 2

Cutting/boning Chilling CCP 1

Packaging Tr ansporting CCP 2

Cutting/boning

Packaging

Figure 9.25 Flow diagram for fresh meat production and processing. ○ indicates a site of minor contamination. ● indicates a site of
major contamination; CCP1, effective CCP; CCP2, not absolute (International Commission on Microbiological Safety of Foods (ICMSF)).

process is carried out, from the specification required
for the raw material through the manufacturing pro-
cess to the distribution chain.
Epidemiological investigation of historical episodes
of premature spoilage or food poisoning in which the
product was implicated can provide valuable informa-
tion about potential hazards. All of the data emerging
from this analysis should be collated into a flow chart and
all of the hazards identified and evaluated with regard to
their severity and likely frequency of occurrence.
2 Determination of the CCPs.
The classical definition of a CCP is 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 proper identification of CCPs can make the
difference between an effective HACCP programme
and one that, by the identification of too many points
in the system which must be considered as critical,
becomes ineffective. A decision tree is often used as a
useful tool to determine if a particular control is in
effect a real CCP. However, informed professional
judgement is key.
3 Establish critical limits.
Is a criterion which separates acceptability from
unacceptability.
Increasing emphasis has been placed on quantitative,
rather than qualitative, criteria which indicate whether

or not an operation is under control. Quantitative crite-
ria, such as time, temperature, pH and the concentra-
tion of various chemicals, can be measured and indicate
definitively that a system is or is not controlled.
Qualitative criteria such as colour or smell are more dif-
ficult to determine objectively, and consequently, it is
much more difficult to judge divergence from the
accepted normal. Microbiological criteria are particu-
larly difficult to quantify in absolute terms under prac-
tical conditions. A great deal of standardisation of
sampling and laboratory techniques is required before
values can be compared. Attempts to quantify in
numerical terms the infective dose of a particular path-
ogen are fraught with difficulties owing to differences
in pathogenicity of different strains and varying suscep-
tibility between different groups of consumers. In any
case, the retrospective nature of microbiological criteria
usually renders them unsuitable as critical limits within
an HACCP system, where real-time measurements are
required so that corrective actions can be taken.
4 Establish a system to monitor control of the CCP.
Monitor. The act of conducting a planned sequence of
observations or measurements of control parameters
to assess whether a CCP is under control.
This is best carried out by the operatives themselves
or by their supervisors rather than by a special team
of quality assurance staff. The integration of the checks
into the routine of the manufacturing process and the