The intention of this first step in the development and implementation of a HACCP system is for the company concerned to assemble a team of staff who possess product specific knowledge and expertise for the development of an effective HACCP plan. Hence, the recommendation is for the company to assemble a multidisciplinary team since such extensive knowledge may reside with more than a single individual.

In practice, this team may comprise of members that include the purchaser, raw materials receiving store-man/helper, production supervisor, logistics, sales and human resource representatives. The list of personnel to be involved really depends on the size of the company and the scope of the HACCP plan. For small companies, it is possible for a small team to be formed comprising of a few key persons who know all about the products and processes involved. A small team has the advantage of being lean and the development the HACCP system may take off quite quickly. However, for larger companies where specialisation and division of work is necessary, a bigger team comprising of more disciplines/departments may be needed in order to capture critical product or process information for the building of an effective HACCP system.

This first step also requires the company to identify the scope of the HACCP plan. The scope of food business is that part of the food chain that the company is responsible or can be held liable for. For a processed-food manufacturer, this usually starts from the receiving of raw materials to production or food preparation to when the processed food is delivered to another organisation. For a central kitchen of a restaurant chain, the scope can be extended beyond the kitchen to the restaurant outlets and till the food is served to the dine-in/take-away customer.

By Ng An Tyng
Principal Consultant (PSB Academy)

(The next topic that we will be discussing in this series is “Step 2: Describing the product”)