Does inspection of raw material have to be its own process step?
I would like some help. The company I work for did not have anyone trained in HACCP prior to me coming. I do not really like their HACCP Plan and am looking to change it. I just had one question to me "receipt of raw material" is of course the first process step but a part of that is inspection of the goods and obtaining a CoA, does the inspection have to be its own process step? I do not think we need it to be two but that is how they did it. Please let me know if you have any input.
I would like some help. The company I work for did not have anyone trained in HACCP prior to me coming. I do not really like their HACCP Plan and am looking to change it. I just had one question to me "receipt of raw material" is of course the first process step but a part of that is inspection of the goods and obtaining a CoA, does the inspection have to be its own process step? I do not think we need it to be two but that is how they did it. Please let me know if you have any input.
Hi Laura,
The beginning/end of a typical HACCP plan/Flowchart typically depends on the defined Scope. Sometimes, but infrequently, the first step is "Purchasing".
As you say "Receiving Raw material/Ingredients" is the usual 1st Process Step and these days is most commonly set as a PRP.
Personally, afai recall, i have never seen the inspection activity associated with the control of incoming raw material (safety) included in the flow chart/haccp plan as a Process Step. In fact I have only rarely seen an Inspection activity included anywhere as a step in a haccp Process Flowchart.
Hi Laura,
We have always had separate process steps of receipt (covering the processes of of transit into us and unloading from the vehicle into our inspection area) and inspection (covering the just activities associated with QC handling incoming product). May seem unnecessary to some but we feel it enables clear separation of duties and hazards associated with those duties.
Hope this is of some help
Hi, Laura.
In my experience, we did not separate receiving from inspection.
The description for the PRP for receiving includes inspection of the stocks (including CVs etc) and presence of COA aligned with the delivery receipts.
However given this, you may need to be specific on the process description what you said is the "scope" of receiving and assess the hazards within this scope.
The dilemma may also apply where there is or there is none of a step in the flowchart that includes sampling (especially if your raw materials are dry mixed/dry addition) so it will be a good thing if you standardized the approach but be sure all hazard within the scope is properly assessed following that standardization.
Dear Laura,
It could be worked out differently in a flow chart. Thus not as a process step, as mentioned above. The symbols in Pic. 7 in the link below can help you to improve and to clarify the document, because a sign, that there is an inspection to be carried out on the received goods is good to integrate.
https://www.conceptd...owchart-symbols
Kind regards,
Gerard Heerkens
To me, inspection is part of receiving. We do not receive anything without inspecting it. Since our HACCP is now tied with with our Food Safety Plan (FSMA) it (inspection) is a process or supply chain control along with supplier verification and CoA.
I have seen inspection both as part of the receiving process and as part of a separate process it all depends on how your flow is structured. Does the material come is and is it verified that a COA is intact before receiving? Or does the product get received and put on hold until it is inspected by a member of quality?