Case Study: Food safety management for pickled…

Case Study: Food safety management for pickled vegetables. XYZ is a medium-sized private company producing a range of ready-to-eat (RTE) food products. These are manufactured in their own factory building on a purpose-built site to ensure no cross-contamination of products occur during movement of materials in the various process steps. The company wants to launch pickled vegetables as its new line of products. In line with the local food legislation, it is compulsory for Company XYZ to demonstrate and verify the operation of a system that covers its legal obligations in food safety management. The owner of the company assigned its HACCP team to prepare a HACCP plan for safe production of their pickled vegetables. The following information may be referred to on the process flow diagram and the procedures for the pickled vegetables to be manufactured by Company XYZ: 1. Receiving raw materials (food/packaging) 2b. Dry ingredients storage 2. Storage 2c. Packaging (food/packaging) materials storage 2a. Vegetables cold storage 3. Washing/ Sanitizing/ Rinsing 4. Sorting 5. Preparation 6. Fill 7. Vacuum seal 8. Heat treatment 9. Drying 10. Labelling 11. Finished product storage 12. Delivery Figure 1: Process Flow Diagram for Pickled Vegetable Production. Show less

Product Description: The finished product may be categorized as fermented and acidified vegetables having water activity, aw> 0.85 and pH level at or below 4.6. It may be stored in ambient conditions and refrigerated after opening. The product will be sold at supermarkets, retail outlets, and ‘ restaurants intended for the general population. The company aims at a target production of 300 units daily (7500 units monthly) Procedures: Pickled Vegetables (food! packaging) 1. Receiving raw materials: 1- Produce: Fresh vegetables (beans, cucumber, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and zucchini) are received from approved vendors. 4- Dry ingredients: Dry ingredients (spices, salt, sugar. etc.) are received from approved vendors. o Packaging materials: Glass jars with metal closures, cardboard cartons, labels, etc. are received from approved vendors. 2. Storage (food! packaging): 2a. Fresh vegetables are stored in cold storage at 2°- 6°C. 2b. Dry ingredients are stored in dry storage. 20. Packaging materials are stored in dry storage. 3. Washing! Sanitizing! Rinsing vegetables: 0 Vegetables are washed and sanitized in potable water to remove any surface contaminants. – Vegetables are rinsed with 2?°- 43°C potable water after being washed. 4. Sorting: 0 Vegetables are sorted by hand and defective! spoiled vegetables are discarded. 5. Preparation: – Brine solution is prepared to appropriate acidity and glass jars are inspected for defects before filing. 6. Fill: o Spices, vegetables, are brine are filled in jars. 7. Vacuum seal: 0 Glass jars are capped, and vacuum sealed to ensure freshness. 8. Heat treatment: 0 Filled jars are placed in a boiling water canner. 9. Drying: 0 Filled jars are air dried to remove remaining moisture on the jars. 10. Labelling: o Jars are dated and labelled. ’11. Finished product Storage: 0 All products remain sealed and all jars frorn each batch will be stored for at least seven days from the date prepared to ensure the pH is appropriate throughout the product. 12. Delivery: – Jarred pickles are shipped out of facility for distribution. Show less

Reference: Identify Critical Control Point using Decision Tree (Source: FAO Corporate Document Repository) Q1 Do control preventive measure(s) exist? YES NO Modify step, process or product Is control at this step necessary for safety? YES NO Not a CCP Stop* Q2 Is the step specifically designed to eliminate or reduce YES the likely occurrence of a hazard to an acceptable level?". NO Q3 Could contamination with identified hazard(s) occur in excess of acceptable level(s) or could these increase to unacceptable levels? ". YES NO Not a CCP Stop* Q4 Will a subsequent step eliminate identified hazard(s) or reduce likely occurrence to an acceptable level? YES NO CRITICAL CONTROL POINT Not a CCP Stop* Show less

Table 1: Example of Hazard Analysis Chart (template) Process Hazard Control Significant 01 01a 02 03 04 GOP Justification step type (51′ measures hazard? (Yes;l (B. C. P. A] No) ‘B (Biological), C (Chemical). P (Physical), A (Allergen) Table 2: Example of HACCP Control Chart (template) Corrective action CCP Hazard Control Critical measure limits (5) Monitoring No What How When (parameter) (procedure) (frequency) Question 1 I’ (a) As a member of Company XYZ’s food safety team. outline a thorough and detailed HACCP management plan covering the entire pickled vegetable production process, as depicted in Figure 1. (Note: Consider the 5 Steps and 7 Principles of HACCP]. In your HACCP management plan, illustrate and clearly include the following: 0 Any relevant scientific information pertaining to the CCP management. a In your hazard analysis, list all the hazards and their control measures for the process steps shown in Figure 1, by recording on a hazard analysis chart (sample provided below as Table 1) based on Codex decision tree. Identify whether it is a GOP with proper justification stated in the last column of the hazard analysis chart (Table 1). – Using a HACCP control chart (sample provided below as Table 2). indicate the control and monitoring requirements for managing the identified CCPs in Table ‘1, by stating the process step and its corresponding hazard to be controlled, control measure (3). critical limits. monitoring details as well as corrective action (3). 0 Clearly state your assumptions, if any, during the various stages of the pickled vegetables manufacturing procedure highlighted in the process flow diagram. (b) From the given description of the pickled vegetable case study, explain how the HACCP team may perform validation of their HACCP plan elements. Should the validation be conducted before or after implementation of the HACCP plan? (0) Suggest which world-class quality and safety management standard would be well suited for company XYZ to get certified to and explain why. Indicate the validity period. (d) The company management’s assessment of all their trained food handlers working within the company revealed that more than 50% of these workers still demonstrated a dangerous gap between their knowledge of food safety handling practices and their actual application of these principles in the workplace. Briefly discuss FQQR possible reasons behind this gap and explain how it may be bridged. Show less