Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP, is a comprehensive approach to food safety that recognizes biological, chemical, physical, and, more recently, radiological hazards in manufacturing processes that could result in an unsafe finished product and develops measures to minimize these risks to a safe level.
HACCP tries to minimize hazards rather than inspecting finished goods for the consequences of such hazards in this way. The HACCP method may be used at any point in the food supply chain, from food processing and preparation to packaging and distribution. As an important approach to food safety and protecting public health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) require mandatory HACCP systems for juice and meat. The USDA regulates HACCP systems for meat, while the FDA regulates seafood and juice. All other food companies in the United States are required to register with the FDA under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, as well as firms outside the US that export food to the US. Other sectors, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, are gradually implementing HACCP. This approach differs from conventional "produce and sort" quality management techniques, which do little to prevent hazards from occurring and must classify them at the end of the process. HACCP is focused only on the health safety issues of a product and not the quality of the product, yet HACCP principles are the basis of most food quality and safety assurance systems.
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