HACCP – Global Standard Attracting Attention for Food Safety

The recognition of consumers for “relief and safety” is increasing year by year according to food cases such as AQLI Foods Corporation caused the incident of agricultural chemical contamination in 2013.

And also there are numbers of standards of quality or administration which are recognized as global standards such as GMP(*1) or ISO(*2). Especially for food, authorization of ISO22000 and “HACCP”(*3) are gathering attention.

The Previous Concept of "Relief and Safety" and Its Transition 

Up till now what had been viewed as important in food industry were the ones such as manufacturing environment or sanitary management.

This is because the way of recognition that to keep manufacturing environment clean and tidy the food there must have cleared "relief and safety", so a sampling inspection was the main method for checking.

However, because countries such as Europe or America made ISO or HACCP as conditions of food import and export, the way of thinking is shifting from the way to consider only sanitary environment as important, to the way to consider that the total process including the logistics from getting ingredients to passing on to consumers, that is, “from the Ingredients to the Table” as important. 


The Previous Concept of "Relief and Safety" and Its Transition 

HACCP is an acronym of "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point". It is an administration standard of quality that enables to find the cause of problem by breaking the manufacturing process into points, taking the record at each point, and tracking them.

For example, in the case of processed food factory of chicken and pork, first completely dividing the inside of the factory into high-risk area (cooking area) doing heat cooking and low risk area, and making every process into point and administrating for those 2 areas. 


Circumstances of HACCP in Japan 

HACCP has become a standard not only in Japan but also globally. But HACCP authentication, depends on its item category, is essential condition in some countries such as EU, US, Canada as mentioned above.

In response to this, implementing HACCP has been encouraged mainly processed items such as meat products or marine products in Japan.

However, there are not many factories that have been authenticated and are limited to several. The cause is that the cost of implementing the system or facilities of monitoring and recording entire process is enormous and burden imposed is too big, other than previous process environment control. 


Excellent circumstances of HACCP in Thailand 

The ones which have advanced management system from Japan about HACCP are Korea or Thailand. Several years ago, at the seminar of HACCP held by MAFF(the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), those in charge of HACCP implemented companies were invited, and not only those concerned with industry but also as such with the competent authorities were reportedly all surprised with the implemented circumstances.

Betagro Public Co. Ltd., a meat company in Thailand, who was invited to the seminar as a speaker, has already announced “Farm-to-table” as the concept of the company. This company originally established in 1967 as a feed manufacturer, and had been expanding the business to pork, chicken product.

Because of the origin, safety administration of feed for farm and monitoring of all the process in the farm, slaughterhouse, and processing plant, had been operated before implementing HACCP, and the system of preventing the predicted risk in advance had already been built.

It is important to deploy more for HACCP concept including the logistics of “Farm-to-table” in Japan as well as to learn the level of high awareness of this company. 


The Important Things for HACCP of Japan Now

There are not yet many companies, which HACCP have been deployed, in Japan at present
However it has been gradually expanding by supporting program and financing system for implementing HACCP have been made.
 

It is not rare in the food industry that a company which has occurred even one food poisoning such as O157 case can cause its closing down. Even the food manufactured in a safe factory can raise possibility of germ breeding by wrong temperature control on logistics.

To implement administration standards which enable hazard analysis such as HACCP directly links to reduce various risks and gets trust from other companies. It is considered that things which are needed for those concerning to food and logistics industry is high leveled awareness for quality management.

*1:  “GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)”
       Standards for Manufacturing and quality management of drugs and quasi drugs.

*2:  “ISO (International Organization for Standardization)”
       Standards established by this organization are ISO standards.

*3:  “HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)”
       The method of sanitary management by continuously monitoring about food safety.