Quality Management, ISO 22000:2005 and HACCP in Fruit Processing and Packaging - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 99

control department at this stage is to determine the extent of
physical, chemical, and (micro) biological hazards. Several
of the previously mentioned hazards can be very harmful
to human health either on the short term (micro-organism
growth) or long term (pesticides leading to cancer). The
next stage, weighing, even though it is not a CCP, is impor-
tant in terms of quality. Storage conditions (temperature,
relative humidity) are crucial for fruit preservation. If
proper conditions are not maintained, quality degradation
will take place. Washing is an important stage because any
extraneous (foreign) materials adhering to fruit must be re-
moved. Otherwise, this foreign material will remain stuck
to the surface of the mangoes, and the next chance for its
removal will be during the brushing step (whenever this
stage is applicable). In the original HACCP study, washing
was supposed to be a CCP, and it can be removed from the
list only if GMP and/or GHP has been properly applied,
as with the implementation of PRPs. Tip cutting has to be
hygienically carried out to avoid any infection or cross-
contamination either by personnel or machinery. Similarly
to what was reported earlier, application of PRPs can mini-

mize or eliminate the risk, thereby removing this stage from
the CCP list. Sorting is the next stage in the flow diagram
and is related both to quality and safety because it aims
at removing defective fruits (soft tissue, microbial growth)
so that any cross-contamination can be avoided. Deston-
ing refers to the complete removal of the stones, which
are a potential physical hazard to the consumer. Applica-
tions of PRPs can eliminate this CCP as well. Both pas-
teurization and cooling (wherever applicable) are regarded
as two processes of high importance in terms of safety
(microbial growth) for the production of any food. Pas-
teurization targets pathogenic micro-organisms, and deep
cooling subjects any surviving micro-organisms to an ex-
trathermal shock to minimize their possibility for further
growth. Therefore both processes are described as CCPs.
Filling is the next stage characterized as a CCP because
a potential overfilling (less head space) may be hazardous
to human health. This CCP cannot be eliminated by ISO
22000 because there are no PRPs that could possibly ensure
proper filling. Freezing is another stage affecting the safety
of the produced mango because of the temperature-time

Table 6.1. Decision table for critical control point (CCP) determination during processing of mangoes

Q3: Could
contamination with
identified hazards
occur in excess of
acceptable levels or
could this increase
to unacceptable
levels? (Yes/No)

Q2: Is the step
specifically designed
to eliminate or reduce
the likely occurrence
of hazard to an
acceptable level?
(Yes/No)

Q4: Will a
subsequent step
eliminate identified
hazards or reduce
likely occurrence
to acceptable
levels? (Yes/No)

Q1: Do
preventive
control
measures
exist?
(Yes/No)

Is the step
a critical
control
point?
(Yes/No)

Processing stage

Fruit reception Yes No Yes No CCP 1

Weighing Yes No No Yes —

Storage Yes No Yes No CCP 2

Washing Yes No Yes No CCP 3

Tip cutting Yes No No Yes CCP 4

Sorting Yes No No Yes —

Brushing Yes No No Yes —

Destoning Yes No No Yes CCP 5

Pasteurization Yes No Yes No CCP 6

Cooling Yes No Yes No CCP 7

Filling Yes No Yes No CCP 8

Freezing Yes No Yes No CCP 9

Packaging and coding Yes No No Yes —

Palletization Yes No No Yes —

Storage Yes No Yes No CCP 10

Container loading Yes No No Yes —

Transportation Yes No No Yes —