Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

HAZARD ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS 553
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III. CONCLUSION
In a biological hazard category, the main objective of the HACCP system is to
provide a high degree (close to 100%) of assurance that a food ready to be consumed
will be free of pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins. However, the same
principle can be applied to design control of spoilage microorganisms in foods,
especially for those expected to have extended shelf life. Currently, there is an
increase in the production of vacuum- and modified-air-packaged unprocessed and
low-heat-processed food products, many with low-fat content and high pH, some
with an expected shelf life of more than 50 d at refrigerated temperature. There is
evidence that many of these products show unusual types of microbial spoilage and
some are by species that were not known before (see Chapter 20). Although studies
are limited, there is evidence that the incidence of such spoilage is on the rise. It
would be commercially advantageous for the food industry to adopt HACCP not
only for pathogens but to also control spoilage microorganisms. It is also logical to
think about controlling microbiological problems as a whole, which would include
both pathogens and spoilage microorganisms (i.e., total microbial quality, TQM).
One cannot devise methods to control only pathogens or only spoilage microorganisms.
The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 9000 series standards
can be used to supplement HACCP systems and develop effective process control
and process assurance systems. 5 Finally, the HACCP system can be combined with
the hurdle concept of food preservation for the effective control of pathogenic and
spoilage microorganisms for foods that otherwise could not be produced commercially
(see Chapter 40). 6 Although food safety is of primary importance in countries
(especially developing countries) with abundant food supplies, food spoilage is
equally important in many countries where large quantities of food are lost because
of spoilage. In those countries, the HACCP concept to reduce food spoilage will be
particularly important to increase food availability.
REFERENCES
1. Pierson, M.D. and Corlett, D.A., Jr., Ed., HACCP Principles and Applications, Van
Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1992.
2. Sperber, W.H., The modern HACCP System, Food Technol., 45(6), 116, 1991.
3. Sofos, J.N., HACCP, Meat Focus Int., 5, 217, 1993.
4. Anonymous, Hazard analysis and Critical Control Point Principles and Application
Guidelines, J. Food Prot., 61, 726, 1998.
5. Golomski, W.A., ISO 9000: the global perspective, Food Technol., 48(2), 57, 1994.
6. Leistner, L.E.E., Linkage of hurdle technology with HACCP, in Proceedings of the
45th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, June 14-17, Colorado State University, Ft.
Collins, American Meat Science Association and National Live Stock and Meat
Board, Chicago, 1992, p. 1.