July 19, 1999 - Live from AAMP:Smaller Processors Gear Up for Final HACCP Deadline

by Dan Murphy

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.--As the final phase of a three-year deadline for mandatory implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point programs approaches on Jan. 26, the 60th anniversary American Convention of Meat Processors here tackled the challenge head-on.

"We're well aware that a certain percentage of [our members] are still putting their HACCP plans in place," said Steven F. Krut, executive director of the American Association of Meat Processors, sponsors of the show. "But we're confident they will be able to meet the deadline."

Krut told MM&T that he is beginning to feel a certain amount of frustration in dealing with top officials of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. In a recent meeting with FSIS Administrator Thomas J. Billy--who turned down AAMP's invitation to speak to the convention--Krut said he felt that processor's "due process" rights were being violated in the agency's enforcement and HACCP dispute-resolution process.

"We're being treated like we're guilty until proven innocent," Krut said.

Others were concerned that many smaller companies might not have their HACCP plans in place before Jan. 26.

"We know that 10 percent of the plants in Ohio have not had any HACCP training," said Ruth Wilson, executive secretary of the Ohio Association of Meat Processors, "and about 40 percent of the plant in the state have not even begun working on their HACCP plans.

Mark Schad, president of Cincinnati-based Schad Meats Inc. and the head of OAMP's food-safety committee, said that he is worried about companies who haven't even started putting their HACCP plans together.

"It's not a simple process," he warned. "It takes a lot of work to refine and develop a plan."

One AAMP member, who asked not to be identified, told MM&T that he is certain that as many as 10 companies in his Midwestern state association will be going out of business, specifically because they do not want to--or are unable to--put a HACCP plan in place by January.

For processors who are intending to stay in business beyond 1999, John Capra, quality assurance manager for Souderton, Pa.-based Leidy's Inc. outlined some key points in building a HACCP team. "You got to have the mindset that says, we're not going to ship or sell anything that could be unsafe," he said. "You've got to be willing to suffer some losses for the sake of food safety. It's that simple."

Capra emphasized that top management has to be tough in setting HACCP guidelines and enforcing employee behavior. "You can't waver," he said. "Cave in once, and you send the message to your people that it's okay to compromise on food safety. And it's not."

For a company the size of Leidy's, which has 250 employees operating two daily slaughter and production shifts, Capra said that in addition to his full-time duties, expect about 50 to 75 hours of added time from other employees to fulfill the typical HACCP requirements. "The record-keeping alone is monumental," he cautioned. "You're going to fill up boxcars with the paperwork."

However, some of the employee time can be added to routine production tasks, he said. At Leidy's most of the routine temperature monitoring and other checking of critical control points is done by employees who simply leave their job station for a minute, check the temperature, and then return to work.

One key for smaller companies: Find a "neat freak" to manage the record-keeping. "If you've got someone who's a nut about keeping their office clean, that is who you want to manage the records," Capra said. "They've got to be stored for a minimum of one year (two years for shelf-stable products, such as canned meats) and that takes a lot of space, as well as a system that works."

Other HACCP tips Capra shared include:

* Consider an in-house lab for tests other than pathogen testing. "It costs us about 10 times as much to contract out tests to an outside lab," he said.

* Don't be afraid to make an example out of an employee who flouts the rules set up under HACCP. "You don't necessarily have to fire someone," he said. "But if you discipline a worker for breaking the rules, the rest of the employees get the message that you're serious."

* Try to involve your inspector at an early stage of developing the HACCP plan. "Don't just hand the plan over to him to review," cautioned Terry Leidy, president of Leidy's. "But sit down--in your office, not his--and review certain sections so you get the inspector involved and he can voice any objections early on--time enough for you to get them fixed."

This article reprinted with permission from Meat Marketing & Technology.

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