Welcome and Introduction from Chef Andy

Hi, I am Chef Andy, Group Executive Chef at the International Culinary Studio and I am your mentor during this course on Introduction to HACCP.

I hope that you find this short introduction to HACCP useful and that it provides you the tools to dig deeper and, if you haven’t already, implement these food safety controls into your food service establishment.

Please introduce yourself in the comments section below and let us know why this course is of interest to you.

Let’s get started!

An introduction

Strict hygiene standards are applied when working with food; this is because people who eat contaminated food can get very ill and even die. If this happens, apart from the food service establishment being held legally liable, it will ruin the reputation of the establishment and you can be assured that customers will stop visiting.

Food safety in every country in the world is governed by food safety regulations/legislation and standards. If the food service establishment does not comply with these health and safety standards, they are likely to be fined and the restaurant closed either temporarily or permanently.

HACCP (which stands for Hazard and Critical Control Points) is a Food Safety Management System that analyses and controls biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.

For successful implementation of a HACCP plan, management must be strongly committed to the HACCP concept. A firm commitment to HACCP by top management provides company employees with a sense of the importance of producing safe food.

HACCP is designed for use in all segments of the food industry from growing, harvesting, processing, manufacturing, distributing, and merchandising to preparing food for consumption. Prerequisite programs such as current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) are an essential foundation for developing and implementing successful HACCP plans. Food safety systems based on the HACCP principles have been successfully applied in food processing plants, retail food stores, and food service operations. The seven principles of HACCP have been universally accepted by government agencies, trade associations and the food industry around the world. Source fda.gov

In this course we will be discussing:

• Food poisoning and food hygiene
• Outlining hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) practices and procedures
• Identifying key food safety records
• Discussing the key elements of a food safety policy
• Identify reporting procedures
• Sourcing food safety legislation in your country

During the course there are opportunities for discussion; please share your ideas and reflections with others on the course, read through others comments, like or follow them. This will not only enrich conversations but assist with your and others learning.

Regards

Chef Andy