Evaluation of Effectiveness of the Prerequisites and HACCP Plan Currently in Operation in the Catering Facilities of Merchants Quay Ireland (TBC)
Introduction
Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) is a food safety standard that is focused on the manufacturing, handling, distribution and consumption of food based raw materials. It is a systemic approach to creating safe finish products and designs to reduce the risk and increase the safety levels. It is a management system where food safety is kept at the highest level and is addressed through a mix of control analysis and management. It is an internationally recognized system that is designed for reducing the risk that could be caused by foods hazards. The primary function of HACCP is to identify the potential hazards and apply processes for controlling those at specific points. HACCP has been adopted globally by various food standard agencies including Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) (Guide to Food Safety Training, 2015).
Merchants Quay Ireland is one of the largest non-profit organizations that provide residential alcohol and drug treatment services for the homeless. This company is based in Dublin, Ireland and they have started since 1232, as per the company website (Mqi.ie, n.d.).
The present document evaluates HACCP guidelines and applies them to creating an appropriate plan for catering facilities of Merchants Quay Ireland.
IRIS Legislation for Food Hygiene
As per FSAI, there are two levels of food safety skills to be developed in the catering services of the employees and each level has two stages. The first level of food safety is the induction of the skills into employees. In the stage one of the levels one the employees must be informed to wear hygienic clothing, maintain standards of personal hygiene that include hand washing, during illness, and clean work area. Stage 1 is concerned about imbibing these practices into the employees and avoiding any unhygienic practice. The level 1 stage 2 enables the employees that have been trained on basic hygiene skills to develop the next stage of food safety skills. Stage 2 is concerned about imbibing legal responsibilities of food safety recognizing how food can be made unsafe by physical, chemical and biological hazards and understanding of prevention of food contamination. The employees must be able to identify high and low-risk activities, avoiding unnecessary handling of utensils and keep records of food safety. An important skill to develop in this stage is an understanding of how to prevent the pest from food and dispose of waste hygienically. The level 2 identifies additional food safety skills and outlines the necessary requirements for temperature control, pest control, preparation, storage, cooking and transportation of food. In this level, HACCP procedures are implemented in the catering facilities. Necessary changes with regards to food safety compliance, hygienic procedures, food labeling, and laboratory analysis of food products are performed. The overall aim of all the processes plan and compliance is to ensure food safety (Guide to Food Safety Training, 2015).
EU Region 852/2004
The European Union regulation number 852/2004 is concerned about the hygiene of food products and ensures food safety in all stages from production to consumption. It covers food premises, transport conditions, water supply, personal hygiene of workers, food waste, heat treatment and wrapping and packaging (Eur-lex.europa.eu, n.d.).
EU Region 853/2004
The European Union regulation number 853/2004 lays down specific rules and hygiene that is concerned about the food that has animal origins. This act compliments 852/2004 (Eur-lex.europa.eu, n.d.).
EU Region 178/2002
The European Union regulation number 178/2002 provides strength to food safety rules across Europe. It was set up by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It covers the conditions under which food can be consumed and ensures proper information is provided, evaluates the toxic effects, and gives power to the implementing authorities to immediately withdraw any food product that violates the rules (Eur-lex.europa.eu, n.d.).
Disinfection Agents
QUAT (Quayternary ammonium chloride)
QUAT are quaternary salt compounds having active Benzalkonium chloride agents. It acts as a disinfectant without damaging the flow and enjoys acceptance at public health offices and replaces the Chlorine Bleach based sanitizers. Quats are economical and effective odor control agents (McFadden, n.d.).
Chlorine
Chlorine Bleach is one of the oldest disinfectant agents that have mass acceptance across household and institutions. Chlorine bleach has active hypochlorite with 94% water base. It is an excellent disinfectant but not a good cleaner (McFadden, n.d.).
Organization of Sanitation Program
Sanitation is in an important element of the equipment and the catering facility. A proper and operational sanitation program must be implemented with a detailed procedure of use of equipment and a frequency of operation. The proposed sanitation program addresses the requirement of the catering facility of Merchants Quay Ireland.
Frequency
Under the sanitation program a chemical analysis must be carried out on in yearly frequency and the chlorination of water supply must be done. The disinfection of the equipment must be done on a daily basis with a segregation of equipment used for meat and non-meat products (Guidance Note No 8, 2002).
Mixing of Chemicals
Chlorine Bleach is an excellent disinfectant but provides less cleaning while QUAT is a good disinfectant and provides an odorless environment as well. It is proposed that for all the catering areas that hold and stores raw materials and non-exposed to customers must be cleaned by chlorine while those that are exposed to customers must be cleaned with Quat.
Plan and Segregation
Merchants Quay Ireland can achieve a clean and hygienic environment can be achieved by implementing all the practices proposed by FSAI and HACCP. The cleaning includes all the premises, maintenance of equipment, proper surfaces and hygiene of facilities. The premises must be segregated into two areas, one which is customer facing and another that holds or stores the raw materials. The implementation of the plan is segregated based on the maintenance and environment for each aspect of the catering services. The aspects that must be covered are premises, equipment, services and the facilities for Merchants Quay Ireland.
Zoning in Food Factories - High/Medium/Low Risk Zones
The catering facility of Merchants Quay Ireland must be designed in such a way that ensures a physical separation of the raw and finished products. The separation of areas is done by low, medium and high-risk hygienic zones. According to each of the zones based upon the risk factor, an appropriate policy for the food products and employee access must be determined. Each hygienic zone must have a physical partition that includes partitions based on walls, ceilings, doors, and windows. Appropriate air pressure, room temperature, and disinfectants must be applied. The low-risk zones are non-processing units that contain raw materials and areas that are used for pre-mixing, cutting, etc. Medium risks zone are the areas that have food products that are not finished but are in a medium stage of processing. It must have appropriate room temperature and access to the water supply with proper sanitation and cleaning. The high risks zones are the processing areas for cooking, packaging and storage of finished food products. An ideal temperature of 12 degrees C, consistent water supply, routine maintenance and proper sanitation with disinfectants must be done in the high-risk zone (Guidance Note No 8, 2002).
Summary and Conclusion
HACCP and EU legislations are all targeted at ensuring food safety for consumers. It is not only a legal but also a moral obligation for organizations to comply with the proposed regulations. Merchants Quay Ireland already implements much of the proposal of HACCP and EU legislations as provided over the websites. By following the proposals with regards to the disinfectant agent, sanitation programs and zoning of the catering facility they would be able to have a much compliant and healthy facility.
References
Eur-lex.europa.eu. (n.d.). EUR-Lex - Access to European Union law. [online] Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
Guidance Note No 8. (2002). 1st ed. [ebook] Dublin: Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Available at: https://www.fsai.ie/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=732 [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
Guide to Food Safety Training. (2015). 1st ed. [ebook] Dublin: Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Available at: https://www.fsai.ie/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=8310 [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
McFadden, R. (n.d.). Disinfecting the Indoor Environment: Facts About Chlorine Bleach, Quats and Other Disinfecting and Sanitizing Agents. 1st ed. [ebook] Coastwide Laboratories. Available at: http://www.coastwidelabs.com/Technical%20Articles/Chlorine%20Bleach%20Quat%20and%20Other%20Microorganisms%201203.pdf [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
Mqi.ie. (n.d.). Merchants Quay Ireland | Homeless and Drug Services. [online] Available at: https://www.mqi.ie/ [Accessed 20 Mar. 2016].
