HACCP Food Safety Plan, Dandenong South

Purpose. The food safety program for the Dandenong South plant, setting out the hazard analysis, critical control points, limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification and supporting programs for the snack, sauce and juice lines.

1.Scope and HACCP team

This plan covers the receipt, storage, preparation, processing, packing, storage and dispatch of fruit snacks, ambient sauces and chilled juices at Dandenong South. The HACCP team consists of the quality manager as team leader, the production manager, the engineering manager, the warehouse and logistics manager, a line leader and a quality assurance officer. The team meets monthly and reviews the plan annually.

2.Product descriptions and intended use

Fruit snacks are shelf stable, packed in sealed film and intended for general consumption including children. Sauces are hot filled, shelf stable and intended for general consumption. Chilled juices are pasteurised, cold filled, have a chilled shelf life and are intended for general consumption. Each product has a specification that states its allergen profile, shelf life and storage conditions.

3.Critical control points

The plan identifies five critical control points. Each has a critical limit, a monitoring method and frequency, a corrective action and a verification activity, and is recorded in the critical control point monitoring log every shift.

• Juice pasteurisation: holding temperature and time within the validated limit, continuous recording, divert on deviation
• Sauce hot fill: fill temperature at or above the validated minimum, every 30 minutes
• Metal detection on every packing line: three test pieces detected and rejected, hourly
• Allergen changeover: verified clean and swab pass before the next product starts
• Cold store and chilled dispatch: product temperature within limit, every 4 hours and at every load

4.Supporting programs

The plan relies on supporting programs for cleaning and sanitation, pest control, personal hygiene and training, supplier approval, allergen management, glass and brittle plastic control, maintenance and calibration, water quality, waste and traceability. Each program has a procedure, a record and a verification frequency.

5.Corrective action

When a critical limit is exceeded the operator must stop or divert the process, place affected product on hold, notify the line leader and record the event. The quality team will investigate, decide the disposition of the held product and record the event as a non-conformance.

6.Verification and validation

Monitoring records will be verified every shift by the quality assurance officer. Pasteuriser and hot fill limits will be validated at commissioning and after any change. Calibration of critical instruments, product testing, internal audits and mock recalls verify that the plan works.

7.Review

The plan will be reviewed annually, after any recall or critical non-conformance, and before any new product, ingredient, line or equipment is introduced. Changes will be made through the hazard analysis worksheet and approved by the HACCP team.