Current News 03/2016

Go back

Jun 16, 2017 - hygiene

Current News 03/2016

New Guide for Implementing Hygiene and HACCP Concepts

The EU Commission has revised the guide for implementing food safety management systems. The guide is intended to serve as a practical orientation aid for both the authorities in monitoring and for food companies in creation. 

The purpose of the guide is to explain hygiene and HACCP concepts on the following points: 

• Interaction between PRPs (basic hygiene measures or preventive programs) and HACCP concepts within a management system (e.g., DIN ISO 22000) 
• Implementation of PRPs 
• Introduction of HACCP concepts 
• Flexible regulations for certain food companies (especially small businesses) 

The guide tries to explain the building blocks of the hygiene and HACCP concept through practical examples without complicated technical terms. 

The appendices of the guide list the most important preventive measures (PRPs) and explain the implementation using examples. 

Possible PRPs from the guide to consider: 

• Infrastructure (buildings, location and environment, technical facilities) 
• Cleaning and disinfection, operational hygiene 
• Microbiological hazards 
• Pest control 
• Maintenance, calibration 
• Physical and chemical contamination 
• Allergens 
• Control of water and air 
• Personnel (hygiene, health conditions) 
• Raw material (supplier selection, specifications) 
• Temperature monitoring 

The guide describes the approach to how the implementation and design of HACCP concepts can take place. 

The following points are explained: 

• General principles 
• Preparatory activities (e.g., HACCP team, process description, intended use, flowchart) 
• Hazard analysis 
• Determination of CCPs 
• Critical limits for CCPs 
• Monitoring 
• Corrective actions 
• Verification 
• Documentation 
• Role of microbiological criteria and limits 

An important point is the description of flexible regulations for certain food companies. Especially for small businesses, it is explained how and with what possibilities a simplified implementation of HACCP concepts is possible. 

The goal of the flexible regulations is to keep the effort for small companies relatively low during implementation. With the proper design of general hygiene measures (PRPs), a classical hazard analysis and decision tree can be dispensed with. 

Of course, this guide can only be considered a helpful tool. The implementation must be assessed individually for each company. However, it is also important to provide authorities with a guide for controlling the concepts. 
We are happy to accompany and advise you on the implementation of the concepts. Please contact your account manager for this purpose. 

(Source: Guideline)

„Hygiene Traffic Light“ in NRW 

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government has passed a draft law to introduce the „Hygiene Traffic Light“. For the public hearing in the state parliament, the BLL (the association of the German food industry) prepared a statement and a press release in which the draft law is classified as legally questionable. According to the BLL, there is a lack of personnel resources in official food inspection to implement the „Hygiene Traffic Light“ properly. 

The criticism is especially directed at:    

• The previous legal framework is not sufficiently utilized 
• The independent approach of a federal state is questionable 
• Intensive encroachment on fundamental rights 
• Guaranteeing the actuality and meaningfulness is called into question 
• Errors in documentation lead to a distorted image 

It remains to be seen whether the objections will influence the design of the law. It is to be expected that such a law will be passed in NRW by the state parliament in the coming months. 
We will keep you informed… 

(Source: BLL) 

Zoonosis Monitoring Report 2015 

The BVL (Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety) has published the report on zoonosis monitoring 2015. 
In total, 6106 samples were taken at various stages of food production. A total of 2063 bacterial isolates were characterized and tested for resistance to selected antibiotics. 
Pork remains a significant source of human salmonella infections. It is noted that salmonella control is already necessary in breeding farms to prevent introduction to fattening farms. 
For VTEC, the results of the investigation are at the same level as in previous years. About 25% of fattening calves and young cattle at the slaughterhouse test positive for VTEC. 
Coagulase-positive staphylococci can lead to food poisoning within a few hours after ingestion. These pathogens are often found on sheep and goat cheese made from raw milk (9.3% of samples were positive). It is emphasized that the udder health of the animals plays a significant role here. (Source: www.bvl.bund.de)

BAV Internal: Very Positive Confirmations of Our QM System 

This year, our quality management system was thoroughly reviewed. 
The DAkkS has confirmed the accreditation of our system as part of the monitoring process. The pharmaceutical monitoring authority of the regional council of Tübingen inspected our institute after the expansion of the laboratory and confirmed compliance with GMP requirements. Furthermore, the FDA (American Drug Authority) announced an inspection. Here too, we passed the audit without deviations. 
We are very pleased about these confirmations of our effective quality management system. It motivates us to continue to develop the system successfully.