Is there a time limit for Verification of CCP?
OK so you come back to work after 3 weeks holiday and there is 3 weeks of CCP paperwork waiting for you to sign off and verify...
Q: Is there a time limit for verification? Will we get a non conformity for being too 'slow' to sign off on this paperwork? Should I have organised a deputy?
Let me share my thoughts and discuss,
The target of verification is to ensure that your system is complying to the standard you established in place and no deviation happened.
So,the next step is defining who how and when do the verification?
For the first point, who will verify? The person who set the standard , the person in charge of the department or the team leader and you need to set a deputy in case the person in charge got his vacation.
How will you verify?
Actually,this point is up to you! Some industries considering internal audit is a type of verification,others can see that internal audit isn't enough so we have to verify more and more and take more samples on weekly basis, daily basis or monthly basis, it depends on the criticality of the topic you need to verify.
Finally, when to verify?
Based on the method of verification and result,you will set your frequency.
OK so you come back to work after 3 weeks holiday and there is 3 weeks of CCP paperwork waiting for you to sign off and verify...
Q: Is there a time limit for verification? Will we get a non conformity for being too 'slow' to sign off on this paperwork? Should I have organised a deputy?
If there is a time limit it should be recognized in your process -- did the material leave your control. There is some exception for items with very short shelf lives, but generally I would say the time limit is going to be determined by how long a normal lot of product remains under your inventory control -- when it gets released to a customer, time's up.
Yes, a "trained and qualified designee" should be able to replace you. Personnel go on holiday, have medical emergencies, and get fired -- someone should be adequately trained and ready to take over any critical food safety duties on relatively short notice.
I agree with GM above, the root of the issue here is that you need to have a back-up reviewer in place. What is your plan if you intend to leave the company? Get someone HACCP trained in 2 weeks? The safety of the whole operation shouldn't just rest on you! Once a back-up is in place, it's good to have them perform the record review a couple days each month to keep them in practice.
In the US seafood HACCP regulation it states that CCP paperwork must be reviewed within one week of being completed. Every facility I have worked at has more than one person who is qualified to review the paperwork, so that it is done in a timely manner. I agree with the comments above to ensure that you have a backup person to take over while you are out.