The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points quality system was designed specifically for food production. The concept was developed in 1958 on behalf of the US space agency NASA to produce space-qualified astronaut food that would be one hundred percent safe. It is designed to prevent hazards associated with food that could cause illness or injury to consumers. Hazards" are defined as foreign bodies, micro-organisms or chemical substances in a food, or a condition of a food that is likely to cause an adverse health effect under normal conditions of use of the food. The system has been tested and further developed worldwide.
EU Regulation 852/2004 obliges all companies involved in the production, processing and distribution of food to apply this system. This is because there is a certain potential for danger, especially with food or semi-luxury foods. The hazard analysis identifies hazards to consumer health and the probability of their occurrence. The entire manufacturing process is divided into phases, at the end of each of which a control point is defined with corresponding measurement methods. HACCP certification is an international standard based on seven principles. Independent and accredited certification bodies are responsible for this.
HACCP is also an increasingly used instrument for quality assurance or quality control in wine production. In winemaking, possible sources of danger are bacteria and yeasts (biological), foreign substances such as cleaning and treatment agent residues (chemical) and foreign bodies such as glass splinters. Possible critical control points (CCP's) are permitted treatment agents, limit values such as sulphurous acid, and hygiene during bottling (free of lye). The introduction of effective testing and monitoring procedures is the responsibility of the food producers or winegrowers. Some HACCP criteria are also included in the international set of rules IFS (International Featured Standards).
Images: Shutterstock (purchased by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer).
Source: WIKIPEDIA HCCP
wein.plus is a handy, efficient guide to a quick overview of the colourful world of wines, winegrowers and grape varieties. In Wine lexicon, the most comprehensive of its kind in the world, you will find around 26,000 keywords on the subject of grape varieties, wineries, wine-growing regions and much more.
Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)