More on … Online HACCP Training Courses

According to a recent survey, 99% of participants would recommend the online training to others, all agreeing that the course provided them with a basic understanding of HACCP’s principles as well as what they needed to do to comply with the FDA’s Seafood HACCP regulations. Of these participants, 90% said they would be interested in taking additional Web-based training.

Once registered, each participant of the Online HACCP course is required to work through 12 Modules. These include an introduction where students learn what HACCP is, how it was developed, and how it is different from traditional approaches to food safety. Early on in the process, users are also asked to identify their food products, how they are distributed, and the intended use and customers. This information is helpful to participants as they develop a flow chart to describe what happens to the seafood products in their operation. Written descriptions explaining what occurs at each step – including the procedure(s) conducted at that step, the equipment that is used, or other activities – can be used as a working reference for the development of the HACCP plan and to facilitate communication with company personnel and regulators.

The lion share of the training focuses on the seven principles of HACCP that have been universally accepted by government agencies, trade associations and the food industry around the world, which are:

(1) Conduct a hazard analysis;

(2) Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs) in the process;

(3) Establish critical limits – For a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes;

(4) Establish monitoring procedures, such as determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored;

(5) Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met. For example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met;

(6) Establish verification procedures, like testing time-and-temperature recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly;

(7) Establish record keeping procedures – This includes records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring of safety requirements and action taken to correct potential problems.

— Paul C. Focazio 


More on … The National Seafood HACCP Alliance

 “The National Seafood HACCP Alliance’s training program has been a great partnership between the National Sea Grant network, federal and state regulatory agencies, and the seafood industry,” says New York Sea Grant Seafood Specialist Ken Gall, a trainer and guest seminar speaker for many years on the topic of Seafood HACCP for organizations such as the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. “He’s a valuable resource for both regulators and industry when there are questions concerning seafood HACCP,” says Erin Sawyer, Director of Field Operations for NYS Ag & Markets.

The Alliance updated all of its training materials over the past year. This included a completely revised training curriculum manual for the three day course, a revised version of the Internet course, and teaching models. New teaching strategies that have been identified by experienced instructors were incorporated, and extensive content revisions were made to ensure that all training materials are consistent with the new FDA guidance document.

In addition to offering training on seafood HACCP, the Alliance has a training course on Sanitation Control Procedures and an Internet course developed and managed by NYSG’s Ken Gall on the FDA’s basic Good Manufacturing Practices regulation, which applies to all food processors, wholesalers and warehouses. The regulation outlines the basic requirements needed to prevent bacterial and chemical contamination of products by using proper cleaning and sanitizing procedures for equipment and having hand washing and sanitizing stations in the processing area for employees.

— Paul C. Focazio