WHAT IS HACCP
AND HOW
WILL IT
AFFECT ME
AS A
POULTRY GROWER?
Dr. M. Hulet
Dept, of
Poultry Science
Recently, more and more atten
tion is being focused on the use of
management techniques known as
HACCP programs. The acronym
stands for Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Point This management
technique was developed by Pills
bury and successfully used by
many other companies in the deve
lopment pf quality control prog
rams to promote food safety.
The essence of the program is
the selection of critical points in
the production cycle of food, or
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any product for that matter, and
establish quality control limits that
allows for the production of the
food successfully and safely, and
eliminates any contaminants
physical, chemical, or microbio
logical. By monitoring the process
and keeping appropriate records,
one can be confident of producing
a consistent and safe product
HACCP uses seven principles to
ensure the success of die program:
1. Conduct a hazard plan. Deter
mine the potential dangers and
hazards in the entire production
process.
2. Identify critical control points
(CCPs). Identify the specific fac
tors in the process that can result in
the production of unsafe products.
3. Establish CCP limits. Deter
mine what hazard levels can be
tolerated in the manufacturing
process.
4. Establish CCP monitoring
requirements. Establish the sam
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pling frequency that insure product
quality is maintained.
S. Establish corrective actions.
Determine what action to take
when monitoring shows that the
process is not within specified
limits.
6. Establish effective record
keeping. Develop a procedure for
keeping records that will allow for
tracing back through the process to
identify lapses or breakdowns in
the system.
7. Establish verification proce
dures to show that HACCP is
working. Develop procedures Jp
show that problems in the process
will be recognized by the system.
You are probably saying that
this is all fine and it may work for
NASA and for Pillsbury, but what
is its relevance on my farm?
The USDA and the FDA are
establishing mandatory com
pliance of meat processing plants
for the establishment of HACCP
programs to reduce microbial con
tamination of poultry and red
meat. The program is a departure
from the past efforts of “properly
handled and adequately cooked
meat is safe” to an attitude that rec
ognizes that a growing number of
consumers are immunologically
compromised (elderly, AlDS
related, organ transplant, cancer
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patients, etc.) and can’t take the
risk of even a low level exposure to
potentially pathogenic microor
ganisms. To this at-risk popula
tion, levels of microorganisms that
would be considered normal and
not a problem for most people
could be potentially fatal. There
fore, HACCP programs to reduce
the level of harmful microorgan
isms will be established to further
enhance the safety of our food
products.
With a procedure geared to con
centrate on the processing plant,
one may again ask, “how is this
going to affect me and my farm?”
As the processing plant establishes
its critical control points, one pos
sible area of introducing pathogens
into the plant will be from the live
birds from the farm. Efforts then
could be directed toward why
some farms are pathogen-free and
others have significant levels of
pathogenic organism which may
Post Harvest Focus
Of Hort Meetings
not be harmful to the chickens, but
could be potentially harmful to
humans.
Recently, Dr- Dave Kradel,
poultry veterinarian with the Pen
nsylvania Poultry Federation,
reported on a HACCP program for
the table egg industry called the
Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assur
ance Program (PEQAP). Hie pur
pose of this program is to reduce
the incidence of Salmonella enten
tidis infection of laying hens.
Through various studies, it has
been determined that the major
route of entry for Salmonella
infections of layers is infected
mice, infected chicks and pullets,
and contaminated environments.
By establishing a rodent control
program that can be monitored for
its effectiveness, testing chicks
and pullets prior to placement into
clean facilities and proper cleaning
and disinfection of facilities, it has
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CLAYTON, N.J. Dr. Carlos Crisosto,
post-harvesl fruit scientist from the University
of California, will be one of the featured speak
ers at the tri state horticultural meetings in Her
shey. Pa. on January 31, February 1-2.
Crisosto will discuss good harvest and han
dling practices for peaches, nectarines, and
plums on the Wednesday afternoon session of
the program. On Thursday morning, he will also
discuss management techniques in the orchard
that influence post harvest quality of peaches,
nectarines and plums.
“Other topics on post harvest management
will be presented by Dr. Walker Miller of Clem
son University, who will discuss brown rot con-
trol strategies, and Dr. Laura Lehman-Salada of
Penn State University, giving tips on storage
management and control,” said Genie DcCou,
president of the New Jersey Horticultural Soci
ety.
The Tri-State Horticultural Society Meetings
are co sponsored by the Horticultural Societies
in Maryland and New Jersey, The State Horti
cultural Association of Pennsylvania, and the
cooperative extension systems at the University
of Maryland, Pennsylvania State University and
Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey.
DeCou said, “The meetings will begin Tues
day morning with a session on new develop
ments in agricultural chemistry for the fruit and
vegetable grower. Dr. Turner Sutton will also
discuss pre- and post-harvest diseases of apples
to close out the session.
“The Tuesday afternoon session will feature
new developments in electronic technology for
orchards," said DeCou. “This will include com
puter software for pesticide record keeping,
weather monitoring, cost accounting, and labor
management.”
In addition to a full program of talks for tree
fruit growers on Wednesday and Thursday, a
small fruits program will be held concurrently.
Presentations will be given on everbearing rasp
berries, blueberry cultivars, strawberry cultivars,
and strawberry plasticulture.
The sessions will also feature talks on
postharvest handling on small fruits, maximiz
ing blueberry shelf life, small coolers for shelf
life extension, and nutrition for prolonging shelf
life of small fruits. Dr. Eric Hanson of Michigan
State University will be the featured speaker of
this session. The final session of the small fruit
program will focus on pest management and the
economics of blueberries and other small fruit.
Running currently with the small and tree
fruits program is the annual meetings of the
Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association,
and the Auxiliary program for spouses by the
State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania
and the Maryland State Horticultural Society.
The Tri State Horticultural Meetings also fea
ture the largest trade show for fruit growers in
the Eastern United States. More than 125
exhibitors with all types of fruit and vegetable
growing handling equipment and supplies will
be participating at the three-day meetings.
Details on registration are available by con
tacting Bill Tietjen, Rutgers Cooperative Exten
sion of Warren County at (908) 475-6505 or by
calling (609) 863-0110.