New HACCP Whitepaper

Implementing an effective Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety management system is a central priority for today’s food and beverage producers, as it is critical to complying with the standards of domestic and international regulatory authorities, governments and consumers.  

Flowcrete Australia has produced a white paper entitled What is a HACCP Food Safety Management System and How Does it Relate to Flooring? to help food and beverage businesses learn about this preventive risk assessment tool and ensure that all facilities comply with its guidelines. 

Flowcrete Australia’s Managing Director, Sean Tinsley, said: “We’ve worked with some of the largest food producers at their most challenging plants and we’ve always ensured that the knowledge, experience and skills we’ve built up have been put to use creating floors that effectively meet the industry’s multifaceted demands.

“This white paper has been produced as part of our commitment to advising the food industry on best practice flooring, as it is essential to follow HACCP’s rules in order to ensure that the finish underfoot will provide the necessary properties for a food facility.”

As the white paper explains, being HACCP compliant is vital to fulfilling the increasingly strict requirements of industry regulators. This is exemplified by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which stipulates that a producer must "identify all food safety hazards and controls through the use of a HACCP plan".

When combined with the fact that many nations will require food to have been produced according to the same or similar principles, this means that failing to meet the HACCP benchmark can stop businesses from trading both domestically and internationally. 

The HACCP process involves analysing food safety hazards and putting in place appropriate controls to eliminate or reduce contamination. Getting the floor area right is central to this, as failing to do so could put the facility at risk from unwanted and difficult to eradicate bacteria build-up which could easily infiltrate and spoil produce onsite.

In the white paper readers will be able to find out what flooring characteristics and certifications they need to look out for in order to ensure that floors within production, processing and storage areas live up to the HACCP standard. 

The white paper also examines how HACCP came to be created, the role it plays in Australia’s regulations as well as the product certification scheme HACCP International, which evaluates materials, equipment and services used within the food industry.

Getting ahead with HACCP is not an option, as the future of the food industry is towards ever more regulated use of due diligence programs. For example, before dairy manufacturers in Victoria can apply for a license they need a "written food safety program" that has been based on "Codex HACCP principles as outlined in Codex Alimentarius, Basic Texts on Food Hygiene, Annex Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System and Guidelines for its Application".

If you would like to learn more about this increasingly important topic then click here to download and read the white paper today. To discuss specifying a HACCP International certified floor for a specific food and beverage facility then get in touch with Flowcrete Australia’s expert team.