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Solare

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Posted 17 April 2014 - 09:50 PM

Hi all,

 

My first topic, I might be repeating something asked before, if so I apologize in advance!

 

I have been tooling around the different threads trying to piece together the best way to approach HACCP in my restaurant.

 

To give a little background...

 

-Based in beautiful San Diego, California.

-Full Service Restaurant

-Cryovac Soups, fish, meat

-Nothing packaged and sold, everything is for holding and using in-house for the restaurant

-I have no previous knowledge about creating HACCP Plans and everything I know is from downloaded government packets and information gathered from this site.

 

We were told from the Health Department that we need a HACCP Plan for all items involving the cryovac machine.

 

My BIG question is: Should I hire a professional company or attempt to complete the HACCP Plan myself?

 

The company I was considering was http://www.haccp-portal.com/

 

Thanks!

 

 



SQFconsultant

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Posted 18 April 2014 - 01:48 AM

You should be able to do it yourself. I am not familiar with haccp portal but I am familiar and recommend http://www.haccpbuilder.com  - they have full blown systems for restaurants, food processors, etc and if you need a HACCP consultant they are available directly on the website.

 

You should take a HACCP course as well.

 

Best to you.


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Solare

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Posted 18 April 2014 - 07:05 PM

Thanks for the response Glenn!

 

So cost is definitely a factor for me.

 

To hire a company like haccpbuilder.com, it will cost me a one time fee around $700 and monthly fees as well.

 

The Pros:

I get software and some assistance with questions I have depending on how much I pay.

 

The Cons:

Expensive

 

Signing up for a class will cost around $650 and will give me a certificate for me HACCP Trained.

 

The Pros:

I get a certificate and "properly trained" with HACCP Plans

 

The Cons:

Expensive and I don't believe I get any software to assist me in the future.

 

Both ways require paying over $500.

 

 

-At the end of the day, I am only using the Cryovac in-house for the restaurant. Nothing is leaving the restaurant and being sold retail.

-I currently vacuum seal only a handful of items: Soup, raw meat like sausage, cooked meats like ossobuco

-Per the Local Health Department, I only need a HACCP Plan for items related to our Cryovac Machine.

 

Does it make sense to spend the money for a handful of items that never leave the restaurant?

 

Is it possible for me to do it myself given documents resourced from the internet or is it just better and easier to pay the money and work with a company to complete my HACCP Plan?



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Posted 19 April 2014 - 01:48 AM

Dear Solare,

 

A few commments regarding yr query as to self-fulfilment of the requirements in yr OP. Not including the cost. :smile:

 

(1) You have not yet informed regarding your own technical background/qualifications (if any?).

(2) Your options may well depend on the specific level of detail / knowledge / demonstrable ability  required by yr local regulations.

 

If (1) is limited, you will see from numerous similar threads on this forum (including USA) that some training is typically regarded as unavoidable. The amount will also depend on (2).

 

i'm not in USA but I can describe a little haccp context as, i believe, per the UK experience. Around 10 years back, the EU introduced a mandatory requirement for all retail  food business operators within countries in their community to be regularly audited regarding their Food Safety capabilities, particularly with regard to the satisfactory  implementation of HACCP. Many people involved, eg restauranteurs, naturally had an understanding of basic operational  Food Hygiene requirements / legal implementation but no knowledge regarding HACCPSponsored training courses by local authorities in typical "textbook" HACCP were a rapid failure due a lack of haccp comprehension. The result was the country-wide introduction via (free) training courses of a "simplified" FS system based on normalised HACCP principles / template documents to be compulsorily filled in by participants. This approach was (fortunately) accepted by the EU as within the scope of their legislatory directive. The manuals / workbooks developed (Safer Food Better Business, SFBB system) are freely available for download and have been posted/linked in various places on this forum.

 

AFAIK, the US approach demands a deeper understanding of haccp implemmentation, to the extent of requiring formal HACCP plans, etc, etc. Based on previous paragraph, i suggest you should do a little self-assessment plus calculating the potential costing. Not saying impossible to "go-it-alone" but it depends on the situation.

 

Rgds / Charles.C


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


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Posted 20 April 2014 - 02:04 AM

Hi, Solare;

 

You could cut your costs by half with segment one HACCP training online, followed by live training for segment two.  AFDO offers this program through Cornell:

 

http://seafoodhaccp....ntro/index.html

 

Course schedules:

 

Attached File  Listing of Registered Courses.pdf   160.66KB   18 downloads

 

However implementing a HACCP plan for said hazard is not really difficult or time consuming, and I'm sure there are plenty of people here on the forums that would assist.  I would start by investigating 10k packaging and TTI technology.

 

And if you haven't already obtained the FDA Hazards Guidance:

 

Attached File  FDA Hazards Guidance.pdf   4.74MB   60 downloads

 

In brief:

 

http://www.fda.gov/f...e/ucm188201.htm

 

 


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Charles.C

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 06:46 AM

Dear Slab,

 

Useful references.

 

I had a quick look at one arbitrary US location via the rather impressive link in the OP.

 

If the haccp scope of the implied requirements (for soup, meat, fish) are as indicated,  and the OP really knows nothing about HACCP, I fear you may be oversimplifying in this statement –

 

However implementing a HACCP plan for said hazard is not really difficult or time consuming

 

 

I’m also curious as to what TTl is ? (Defeated google.) :smile: (10k was accessible)

 

Rgds / Charles.C

 

PS - of course, if aspects such as hazard analysis, prerequisites, validation, verification are not required, my opinion may change

 

PPS - OK,  i guess TTL = time to live

http://www.statscrop...ryovac-bags.com


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


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Posted 20 April 2014 - 12:53 PM

Dear Slab,

 

Useful references.

 

I had a quick look at one arbitrary US location via the rather impressive link in the OP.

 

If the haccp scope of the implied requirements (for soup, meat, fish) are as indicated,  and the OP really knows nothing about HACCP, I fear you may be oversimplifying in this statement –

 

I’m also curious as to what TTl is ? (Defeated google.) :smile: (10k was accessible)

 

Rgds / Charles.C

 

PS - of course, if aspects such as hazard analysis, prerequisites, validation, verification are not required, my opinion may change

 

PPS - OK,  i guess TTL = time to live

http://www.statscrop...ryovac-bags.com

 

Hi, Charles;

 

I may be over-confident in my assessment because of experience.  But I don't think this is beyond one individual to effectively implement with basic HACCP training and relevant guidance.  Operational prerequisites should be in place for sanitation and GMP as long as the OP has an establishment graded by the health department.  However I may again be stating over-confidence as I'm unfamiliar with California retail codes.

 

Some states offer what is called a "variance" to the code which grants exemptions under specific circumstances.  If this is the case, then it very well may be in the best interest of the OP to hire a consultant.

 

Section 114057.1 is the main interest for the topic:

 

Attached File  California Retail Code.pdf   793.81KB   20 downloads

 

[edit] :oops2: 
Forgot to address your query on TTI.  "Smart labels" are becoming increasingly popular with retail packaging.

Time Temperature Indicator


 


Edited by Slab, 20 April 2014 - 07:15 PM.

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Charles.C

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 06:00 PM

Dear Slab,

 

Unfortunately, the pdf won't open for me in Adobe Reader9 or PDFXchange ? (> "file damaged")

 

Rgds / Charles.C

 

Re - Time Temperature Indicator - thanks for the correction, should have remembered that on this forum TT(uppercase"eye") = TT(lowercase"el") (to my eyes anyway :smile: )

 

PS - added -

 

Version below seemed to open OK  for me but unsure if latest edition. I noticed there have been some updates (maybe others also) as per this link –

http://www.calrest.o...ive-jan-1-2014/

 

Attached File  California Retail Food Code (Jan 2014).pdf   760.93KB   18 downloads

 

As you mention sec.114057.1 seems relevant.

 

Sec. 114057.1 seems to imply sec. 114419.1 is operationally relevant. The text appeared somewhat self-contradictory (to me) in respect to the involvement of the additional secs 114419.2 and .3 respectively.

 

Additionally it seemed to me that sec.113801 may relate, although 11419.1 can be "interpreted" as requiring a "reduced" version of the “HACCP Plan” defined in the former section.

 

And maybe others. :smile:

 

I well recall the “variances” you mention from discussions in an older thread. Hopefully they will be extensive otherwise the HACCP requirements seem substantial.

 

PPS - @Solare - a little more info regarding yr technical background might assist. :smile:


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


Slab

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Posted 20 April 2014 - 07:55 PM

Hi, Charles;

 

I re-uploaded the file.  Not sure as to why the corruption occurred.  :dunno: 

My apologies none the less.

 

Sec. 114057.1 seems to imply sec. 114419.1 is operationally relevant. The text appeared somewhat self-contradictory (to me) in respect to the involvement of the additional secs 114419.2 and .3 respectively.

 

Additionally it seemed to me that sec.113801 may relate, although 11419.1 can be "interpreted" as requiring a "reduced" version of the “HACCP Plan” defined in the former section.

 

 

Indeed.  This is a fundamental problem with regulatory bodies that "adopt" programs one-up without fully understanding the system.  Much akin to the notion of buying a Porsche yet being sold a Yugo... Because it has four wheels, so it's the same. :smile: 


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Posted 22 April 2014 - 07:38 PM

Dear Solare, 

 

As Slab mentioned, there are 'pre-requisite' programs that must be in place or developed first before a HACCP plan can be written/developed so that it is followed. I suspect that the restaurant where you work probably already has most or all of these developed.

 

Here is a link for the National Food Service Management Institute US Department of Agriculture. Once you've verified that these programs are in place and functioning, then the HACCP plan may be a bit less daunting to develop.  http://sop.nfsmi.org/sop_list.php

 

The next link is for ServeSafe(trademark) from the National Restaurant Association: https://www.servsafe.com/home.

 

Here in Georgia, USA, all restaurants must have certified managers who will then train all restaurant employees in Food Safety and HACCP. As others have said, some of your training could be on the web and some will probably need to be in person.

 

HACCP really is Food Safety for the food and all of the various programs (and people and environments) that surround it. It is how we work with the food, how we handle it, etc. 

I hope that some of the information I have shared will be of help to you.





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