Once the limits have been established for all the Critical Control Points (CCP’s) in step 3 of the HACCP plan it is time to implement principle 4 of the HACCP plan. Principle 4 of the HACCP plan is to establish monitoring procedures for these limits.
‘Monitoring is a planned sequence of observations or measurements to assess whether a CCP is under control and to produce an accurate record for future use in verification (1).” These processes are essential so that accurate food safety tracking systems are in place. This ensures that if there is any loss of control at a particular control point then it can be tracked and rectified quickly. These systems are also necessary so that if deviation occurs at a particular CCP then that too can be corrected. In addition, these systems ensure that if your establishment is inspected that you have written proof that you policies and procedures are meeting safety standard requirements.
As part of these processes it is very important that staff are adequately trained so that should deviations or loss of control occur that they know exactly what to do. Because of the potentially hazardous outcome of food borne illness adjustments should be made within good time so that all processes remain in control. Staff should also be trained as to what procedures should be followed should the safety of the food be compromised. As part of principle 4 of the HACCP process accurate records should be kept and should include the date and signature of the person responsible for the process at that time.
Because these processes are done in real time the most common measurements that are take are temperature, pH, time , level of moisture and visual observation of the food being produced. Once the monitoring steps in principle 4 have been established it is time to move on to step 5 of HACCP.
(1) HACCP Principles and Application Guidelines - FDA
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