Take the HACCP above as an example. The information in a HACCP chart is usually presented in a tabular format, as shown above. What does it tell you? If you look closely, you can tell that there are 5 control measures covering 1 threat or possible cause. The measures are focused on the functionality of the process step and tend to be preventative, in this case, to prevent the metal detector from failing. This should be enough to assess the hazard and determine its significance.
When looking at the control measures a logical assumption could be that the are equally divided over all possible causes. In this case, this is very clear as there is just 1 possible cause described. What the chart is missing is the consequences of what happens when the metal detector fails, and what mitigations should be in place to reduce the impacts of this failure. The latter is usually described in the corrective actions which should regain control of the process, deal with the affected product and prevent reoccurrence. However, it is not guaranteed that all relevant consequences are covered by corrective actions or that all possible causes are covered by controls, as it is not visualized clearly by the HACCP chart.
3 – HACCP does not easily communicate hazard information
This point is more about what HACCP is not telling your colleagues involved in the food process. Risk management is not merely limited to the HACCP team. You will often need input from key individuals across the business. Furthermore, you would like to inform your ‘non-risk-related’ colleagues about the hazards involved in their job, and what they can do to prevent them right? It can be hard for them to see the bigger picture from those hundreds of rows of data.
4 – HACCP is not able to facilitate a good safety culture
You can’t have good safety culture without effective communication. Good safety culture is about ensuring that all employees do what they should do. This can be achieved with good communication.
Communication that contributes to a good safety culture does not only tell what employees should do (e.g., washing hands), but also enables understanding on how their actions have a direct impact on food safety, compliance, and brand integrity. Gaining these insights helps everyone involved in the food process to take ownership and prevents blame culture or scapegoating.
5 – HACCP makes it difficult to combine other data sources
HACCP misses the opportunity to link your study to other data sources. This can be for instance, other HACCP studies that connect various hazards through the supply chain, providing you with an overview of hazards and controls that your product is dealing with on its journey from ‘farm to fork’.
Other sources can be audits accidents or incidents, etc. It is precisely this link that makes your data valuable as it provides you with insight on the effectiveness of your controls.
Stay focused!
Keep these limitations in mind when conducting your next HACCP study and make sure that these disadvantages do not get in the way of food safety, compliance, and brand integrity.
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