Prerequisite Programs and Documentation
I'm having a hard time with prerequisite programs in a mock food safety plan I'm doing as an exercise. Not quite sure which PRP are needed for a food manufacturing plant. And which PRP programs need to be monitored daily? I know the SSOP which has 9 daily checks, employee illness, backflow, pests, restroom checks, PPE stored correctly etc.
... Not quite sure which PRP are needed for a food manufacturing plant. And which PRP programs need to be monitored daily? ...
The majority of the checks for food safety or quality team members are doing fall under the PRP (~180). Only a small portion are system critical HACCP or claims based quality program documents (~10).
Some suggestive PRP for daily check:
Drains are trapped and covered. External opening windows, roof vents or fan, where present, are insect screened. External opening doors are closed or screened when not in use. Storage areas is dry and well ventilated. All materials and products are stored off the floor and with sufficient space between the material and the walls to allow inspection and pest control activities to carried out. The lighting provided (natural or artificial) is allow personnel to operate in a hygienic manner. The intensity of the lighting should appropriate to the nature of the operation. Light fixtures are protected to ensure that materials, product, equipment are not contaminated in the case of breakages. Systems is in place to ensure that waste materials are identified, collected, removed and disposed of in a manner which prevents contamination of products or production areas. Provision is made for the segregation, storage and removal of waste. Wet and dry cleaning programmes are documented to ensure that all plant, utensils and equipments are cleaned. Delivery vehicles are checked prior to, and during, unloading to verify that the quality and safety of the material has been maintained during transit (e.g. integrity of seals, freedom from infestation). Incoming materials are inspected, tested or covered by COA to verify conformity with specified requirements prior to acceptance or use. Personnel hygiene facilities are available to ensure that the degree of personal hygiene required by the organization can maintained. Workwear is not have outside pockets above waist level. Shoes for use in processing areas is fully enclosed and made from non-absorbent materials. Finished products are stored in clean, dry, well-ventilated spaces protected from dust, condensation, fumes, odours or other sources of contamination. Specified stock rotation systems (FIFO/FEFO) are observed.I think some of the basic Prerequisite Programs used as support in a HACCP Hazard Analysis could be:
- Approved Supplier Program - Would be checked anytime a raw material is received that it is from an approved supplier and would have a checklist of requirements that are to be met before a Supplier is approved that you would have on file along with the supporting documents.
- Allergen Management - Part of daily walkthroughs to ensure procedures are being followed and sanitation checks after an allergen has been used
- Calibration Program - Determine how often based on risk assessment of your equipment used
- Control of Foreign Matter Contamination - Do you have metal detectors and/or x-rays? Do you use magnets, screens or do equipment checks? Usually these are done at a determined frequency through out each production day. We check metal detectors hourly because if fails then product goes on hold and we want to limit how much we hold but your facility might choose to do them every 3 hours or start of shift, mid shift and end of shift.
- GMP's and SSOP's - Would be checked periodically throughout each day via a walkthrough by a designated and trained employee (this would cover many of the items you had listed and more.)
- Loading, Transport, Unloading and Storage Practices - Would be checked anytime you receive, store or ship items. Monitoring of the storage could be a part of the walkthroughs but would imagine you would have a form for receiving goods and another for shipping goods.
- Pest Prevention - Should be part of what to look for during the daily walkthroughs but also a weekly inspection of interior traps and at least a monthly of exterior bait stations and grounds
- Proper Labeling - Ensuring each and every item received, stored, used and created each day are properly labeled; daily checks.
- Then you may have some additional PRP's that need to be considered that are specific to your operation; example: Room Temperature Monitoring - daily checks and/or a continuous monitoring system (If ambient temperature is a factor in the safety of your products.)
Hi lucho,
To give you an idea of the prerequisite programs required in a food manufacturing plant, below are a list of prescribed good practices from both CODEX and GFSI.
If you look at GFSI Benchmarking requirements for a food safety certification scheme then the expected prerequisites are prescribed in Section 3: Good Manufacturing Practice Requirements (CIII mixed products):
GMP 1 - Site environment
GMP 2 - Local environment
GMP 3 - Facility design, construction, layout and product flow of operations
GMP 4 - Product contamination risk and segregation
GMP 5 - Employee facilities
GMP 6.1 - Personal hygiene standards (documented)
GMP 6.2 - Suitable protective clothing
GMP 6.3 - Medical screening procedure
GMP 6.4 - GMP 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 apply to employees, contractors and visitors
GMP 7 - Training
GMP 8.1 - Procedure of housekeeping, cleaning and disinfection
GMP 8.2 - Suitable cleaning facilities, equipment and chemical materials
GMP 9 - Rework managed to minimise food safety risks and not to compromise traceability
GMP 10 – Site inspections/checks
GMP 11 - Air and water quality
GMP 12 - Waste management
GMP 13 - Pest control
GMP 14 - Reception of purchased materials
GMP 15 Transport
GMP 16 - Storage
GMP 17 - Stock management
GMP 18 - Equipment
GMP 19 - Maintenance
If you look at CODEX Recommended International Code of Practice General Principles of Food Hygiene CAC/RCP 1-1969 latest revisions 2020/2022:
Section 4 Establishment: Design and Facilities
4.1 Location
4.1.1 Establishments
4.1.2 Equipment
4.2 Premises and rooms
4.2.1 Design and layout
4.2.2 Internal structures and fittings
4.2.3 Temporary/mobile premises and vending machines
4.3 Equipment
4.3.1 General
4.3.2 Food control and monitoring equipment
4.3.3 Containers for waste and inedible substances
4.4 Facilities
4.4.1 Water supply
4.4.2 Drainage and waste disposal
4.4.3 Cleaning
4.4.4 Personnel hygiene facilities and toilets
4.4.5 Temperature control
4.4.6 Air quality and ventilation
4.4.7 Lighting
4.4.8 Storage
Section 5 Control of Operation
5.1 Control of food hazards
5.2 Key aspects of hygiene control systems
5.2.1 Time and temperature control
5.2.2 Specific process steps
5.2.3 Microbiological and other specifications
5.2.4 Microbiological cross-contamination
5.3 Incoming material requirements
5.4 Packaging
5.5 Water
5.5.1 In contact with food
5.5.2 As an ingredient
5.5.3 Ice and steam
5.6 Management and supervision
5.7 Documentation and records
5.8 Recall procedures
Section 6 Establishment: Maintenance and Sanitation
6.1 Maintenance and cleaning
6.1.1 General
6.1.2 Cleaning procedures and methods
6.2 Cleaning programmes
6.3 Pest control systems
6.3.1 General
6.3.2 Preventing access
6.3.3 Harbourage and infestation
6.3.4 Monitoring and detection
6.3.5 Eradication
6.4 Waste management
6.5 Monitoring effectiveness
Section 7 Establishment: Personal Hygiene
7.1 Health status
7.2 Illness and injuries
7.3 Personal cleanliness
7.4 Personal behaviour
7.5 Visitors
Section 8 Transportation
8.1 General
8.2 Requirements
8.3 Use and maintenance
Section 9 Product Information and Consumer Awareness
9.1 Lot identification
9.2 Product information
9.3 Labelling
9.4 Consumer education
Section 10 Training
10.1 Awareness and responsibilities
10.2 Training programmes
10.3 Instruction and supervision
10.4 Refresher training
Plenty to be getting on with lucho :smile:
Kind regards,
Tony