Developing your HACCP Plan: Verification Activities

Let's look at HACCP principle 6, Verification Activities.

Verification Activities

Your management system planning must include how you will verify that:

• PRPs are implemented
• Inputs to hazard analysis are updated
• Operational PRPs are implemented and effective (FSSC 22000 and ISO 22000)
• The HACCP plan is implemented and effective
• Hazard levels are within limits
• Procedures for the FSMS are implemented and effective

Verification starts with the validation of control measure combinations before their implementation. Identify and perform validation to determine if the control measures do control the identified food safety hazard. This may include product testing, scientific review, challenging CCPs and monitoring methods, and other methods of validation.

Verification of other steps in the process may include auditing flow diagrams, review of records, internal audits, analytical testing, sampling the environment, visual inspections, review of nonconforming situations and corrections and other verification methods.

All verification activities must be recorded and the records provided to the food safety team. The food safety team or HACCP team will use these results to conduct an analysis of the verification activities that have taken place.

The goals of this analysis are to confirm that the overall system is performing and meeting requirements, to identify any updating that is necessary, identify any trends, confirm that corrective actions have been effective and to use in planning the frequency of internal audits.

The results of the analysis are also communicated to management for use in management review. Validation is a critical piece of the Food Safety Management System and must be carefully planned!

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