Editorial · March 6, 2016
HACCP Certificate Meaning: What Food Buyers Should Ask
A HACCP certificate tells you one thing: an outside auditor checked that a food business runs a written system to find and control safety hazards. It does not tell you the food is perfect. It does not rate taste, quality or price. Food buyers who read the certificate closely, and ask a few plain questions, avoid most of the confusion.
What HACCP means
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. It is a method, not a product label. The business studies each step of making its food, finds where something could go wrong, and puts a control at the steps that matter most. Those steps are called critical control points.
The idea began in the 1960s, when food makers working with NASA needed very safe food for space flights. It spread to ordinary food factories in the following decades. Today it is the base of food safety rules in many countries.
A business that says it "uses HACCP" is describing its method. A HACCP certificate is different. It says someone independent audited that method and found it in place.
Sources: Wikipedia, "Hazard analysis and critical control points" (history section).
The seven principles behind the paper
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, run by FAO and WHO, publishes the guidelines most auditors follow. They list seven principles. Knowing them helps you read any certificate or audit summary.
- Analyze the hazards that could affect food safety.
- Find the critical control points, where control is essential.
- Set limits at each point that separate safe from unsafe.
- Monitor each point.
- Decide in advance what to do when a point is out of control.
- Verify that the whole system works.
- Keep records of all of it.
The Codex text also gives a twelve-step path for setting this up. It starts with building a HACCP team, describing the product and drawing a flow diagram of how it is made. A supplier that can show you its team, its flow diagram and its records is following that path.
Sources: FAO, "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System and Guidelines for Its Application," Codex Alimentarius food hygiene basic texts (fao.org/4/y1579e/y1579e03.htm).
How HACCP differs from ISO 22000
Buyers often mix up the two. HACCP is a method. ISO 22000 is a standard for a whole food safety management system, first published in 2005. It asks for HACCP principles and also for basic hygiene programs, clear communication along the supply chain, and steady improvement.
The standard is written for any organization in the food chain. That includes farms, processors, caterers, storage firms and distributors. So a trader or a warehouse can meet it, not only a factory.
In short, a HACCP certificate speaks to hazard control in the process. An ISO 22000 certificate speaks to the wider management system around it. Neither one replaces the other, and neither one is a promise about a single batch. Ask which one a supplier holds, and ask to see the document.
Sources: Wikipedia, "ISO 22000" (scope and 2005 first edition, with related ISO/TS 22003 and 22004 guidance).
Who issues a valid certificate
Standards bodies write standards. They do not usually hand out certificates to companies. A certificate comes from a certification body that audits the business. For ISO 22000, a separate technical specification, ISO/TS 22003, sets requirements for the bodies that audit and certify food safety systems.
Training certificates are another thing. Many people take a HACCP course and receive a paper saying they finished it. That shows a person has learned the method. It does not show that a plant uses it. Some professional groups also offer an auditor credential, which is again about a person, not a factory.
So when a supplier shows you a HACCP certificate, first work out which kind it is. A plant audit certificate names the business and the site. A course certificate names a person.
Sources: Wikipedia, "ISO 22000" (ISO/TS 22003); Wikipedia, "Hazard analysis and critical control points" (auditor credentials and training providers).
Questions to ask before you buy
A short list is enough. Keep the answers in writing.
- Who issued the certificate, and is that body known to audit food businesses?
- Does it name the exact company, the address and the products or processes covered?
- What is the issue date, and when does it expire? Is there a recent follow-up audit?
- Does the certificate cover the site that will make your order, or only the head office?
- Can the supplier show its flow diagram and its list of critical control points?
- What happens when a limit is missed? Ask for an example from its records.
Be careful with a certificate that is blurry, undated or missing an issuer. Be careful too with one that covers only part of the range you want to buy. If the paper does not match the product, treat it as no certificate at all for that product.
What a certificate cannot tell you
A certificate is a snapshot of an audit. It cannot show how the plant ran last week. It also cannot replace your own checks, such as clear labels, sensible storage and a written specification for what you ordered.
For supplements, remember that this is general information, not medical advice. Food safety documents say how a product was handled. They do not say what a product will do for anyone's health.
Use the certificate as one piece of evidence. Pair it with samples, references and a visit if you can. Suppliers who are proud of their systems usually welcome the questions.
Sources: FAO, Codex HACCP guidelines (verification and record keeping principles).
Sources
A place on this register is not for sale.