Writing and Implementing a School Food Safety Program Based on HACCP Principles

1. Writing and Implementing a School Food Safety ProgramBased on HACCP Principles

2. GOALS FOR TODAY • Understand how to write a HACCP Plan • Understand the Manual you received. • Utilizing the forms in the Appendix, begin writing your school/district’s HACCP, or Food Safety Plan.

3. Purpose of a Food Safety Plan • Serving safe food is a critical responsibility for child nutrition programs and a key aspect of a healthy school environment. • Keeping foods safe is also a vital part of healthy eating and a recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. • When properly implemented, food safety programs will help ensure the safety of school meals served to children across the United States.

4. HACCP’s Seven Principles • Identify Hazards 2. Identify Critical Control Points 3. Establish Critical Limits • Establish Corrective Actions • Establish Monitoring Procedures 6. Establish Verification Procedures 7. Establish Record Keeping Procedures

5. Advantages of HACCP A food safety program based on HACCP Principles helps to reduce or eliminate potential food safety hazards and: • Protects your customers • Improves control of food processes

6. Advantages of HACCP, continued • Provides a defense against complaints and legal action • Complies with the law for Child Nutrition Programs • Provides a process for continuous self-inspection and self-improvement

7. A HACCP approach helps to: • Identify foods and procedures most likely to cause food borne illness • Develop procedures to reduce the risk of an outbreak • Monitor processes to keep food safe • Verify that food served is consistently safe

8. Developing a Food Safety Plan • Establish a food safety team • Develop a program description • Assess and strengthen prerequisite programs • Assess standard operating procedures • Develop standard operating procedures • Determine the food processes for your menu

9. Developing a Food Safety Plan,continued • Establish corrective actions • Establish monitoring procedures • Establish verification procedures • Establish record keeping procedures • Develop your written plan • Develop a plan for employee training • Establish Corrective Actions

10. Establish a Food Safety Team • Elect one person to be “in charge” • Engage all food service employees • Share ownership • Increase motivation • Employee contributions are important

11. Establish a Food Safety Team,Continued • Team is responsible for • Assessment of current operations • Development of the food service plan • Implementation of the food service plan

12. Develop a Program Description • Collect information needed to write plan • Who is being served • How is production accomplished • How do facilities & equipment impact food production and service • How food is purchased & stored • See Appendix A – Suggested Content for Program Description

13. Assess Current Program • Need strong foundation • Assess prerequisite programs • Prerequisite programs need to be in place before a HACCP based program can be effective. • See Appendix B – Required Program Assessment

14. Assess Current Program, Continued • Develop Standard Operating Procedures • SOPs must be specific to each site and each type of production • What • Why • How • When • Who See Appendix C – SOP Checklist See Appendix D – Sample Standard Operating Procedures – Pages 16 through 36

15. Determine the Food Processes for your Menu • Categorize menu items • No Cook Step – No cooking is done, so the menu item does not go through the temperature danger zone. • Same Day Service – The menu item takes one complete trip through the temperature danger zone (during cooking) and is served. • Complex Food Preparation – The menu item goes through both heating and cooling, taking two or more complete trips through the temperature danger zone. See Appendix E – Menu Worksheet

16. Determine the Food Processes for your Menu,continued Identify what measures need to be taken to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a hazard from occurring. • Control Measure – Any means taken to prevent, eliminate, or reduce hazards. • Critical Control Point (CCP) – Operation (practice, preparation step, procedure) to which a preventative or control measure can be applied that would eliminate, prevent, or minimize hazards. • Critical Limits – The time and/or temperatures that must be achieved or maintained to control a food safety hazard. • See Page 7 of the Resource CNF/SNA

17. Establish Corrective Actions • Preplanned (written) Procedures • What problems might occur • What specific action should take place • Who will be responsible for the action • Who will document the corrective action steps See Appendix F – Corrective Action Worksheet

18. Establish Monitoring Procedures • Monitoring is critical • Written documentation Remember, if it has not been written down, It has not been done! See Appendix G – Monitoring Procedures Worksheet

19. Establish Verification Procedures • Confirmation that a food safety program is working • Provides the needed information to • maintain an effective program • update the program as needed

20. Establish Record Keeping Procedures The record keeping system should be: • Simple • Part of the daily/weekly routine • Accurate • Comprehensive • Kept for at least one year (some districts choose to keep them for 3 years as they do other records) See page 9 of SNA/CNF handouts

21. Employee Orientation & Training • Employee Orientation (new hire) • Food safety concepts • Signed by employee & supervisor • Kept on file • Ongoing and Progressive Appendix H, I, J, K

22. THE BOTTOM LINE ! ! EVERY STEP, FROM PROCUREMENT TO CLEAN – UP, MUST BE EVALUATED TO ENSURE THE FOOD SUPPLY FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS IS SAFE.