So what is this HACCP?  - As you should have deduced it stands for
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points
– but that may be like trying to describe a colour to a blind person – so let’s find a bit more about it.

HACCP was originally designed for the US space programme, particularly the Apollo Moon Programme in the 1960's. 
If the astronauts ate contaminated food and developed food poisoning while in transit either to or from the Moon then the outcome could have been a disaster.

Visualise this scenario - the incubation period for salmonella food poisoning is six to 72 hours, commonly 12-36 hours (Benenson)  two days into a two week mission one of the three astronauts develops headache, fever, abdominal pain and diarrhoea – they may or may not develop vomiting.

If you saw the movie Apollo 13 you would know they would have to continue the mission and fly-by the moon – only the moon landing would be cancelled. This infection can be spread from person to person so I will leave you to imagine the condition of the men and their space capsule on their return to Earth some ten days later!

Assuming, of course, that they are able to return…

The companies supplying NASA with food for space missions developed HACCP as a means of ensuring that this event did not happen – the key component of HACCP is PREVENTION.

In an evolutionary sense you could say we have progressed from:

Quality Control

  • Inspection of product
  • Rejection of failed items
Quality Assurance

 

  • Testing product
  • Rejection of failed items
  • Implementing corrective change 

HACCP

 

  • Anticipating failure
  • Correcting BEFORE failure occurs
  • Documenting actions

However before I have the QA people emailing me you need to remember that HACCP principles focus on FOOD SAFETY and Quality Assurance extends well beyond Food Safety to include organoleptic (taste, odour and look) qualities, portion size and weight etc.

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