Food products (HACCP, ISO 22000)

Since the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA), which is part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, entered into force, Ukraine has begun a gradual harmonization of legislation with the EU legislative framework, which has also led to changes in the food industry. Such changes introduced certain rules for all operators of the food production and supply chain: manufacturers, importers, distributors of wholesale and retail trade. These rules are based on the principles of the HACCP system.

To ensure guaranteed food safety (including dietary supplements, food for special medical purposes, food for weight control), the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept has been developed that provides a quality control system in the manufacture of food products by the level of risk criteria. The scope of the HACCP concept is not limited to direct food producers. It is also being introduced in related industries, for example, in food packaging or fast food enterprises. Moreover, all large market operators (supermarkets, retail outlets, restaurant chains and fast food chains, hotels, etc.) introduce internal selection criteria for suppliers in terms of availability, and in some cases, certification, of the HACCP system.
(What is mean HACCP and main goals, Download pdf)

It should be noted that the implemented HACCP concept is a competitive advantage for participating in various tenders. The certificate significantly increases the confidence of foreign partners in enterprises where the internationally accepted system is in place and opens up foreign markets for export. The HACCP not only reduces possible risks, but also provides a defense during inspections by market surveillance authorities.

History and legislative framework of the HACCP implementation

On October 1, 2012, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food approved its Decree No. 590 “On Approval of the Requirements for Designing, Implementation and Application of Permanent Procedures Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles (HACCP)” in order to conform the Ukrainian legislation with the European Union legislation. This Decree specifies the need to implement HACCP.

Then, on September 20, 2016, Section VII of the Law “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Safety and Quality of Food Products” came into force, which specifies that all food market operators must have, at least, prerequisite programs for implementing the HACCP system. The statutorily prescribed period is 3 years, but the implementation is planned in the following stages:

• since September 20, 2017, HACCP has become mandatory for enterprises (except small ones) that work with unprocessed foods;
• all other food market operators, except small ones, must implement HACCP before September 20, 2018;
• HACCP must be implemented even by small business representatives involved in the production, transportation, storage or distribution of foods, before September 20, 2019.

Small enterprises are those that supply food to the end consumer, have no more than 10 employees and are located on an area of no more than 400 square meters; as well as those that do not supply food to the end consumer, and have no more than five employees.

Based on the HACCP concept, several standards have been developed that are implemented in some countries and regions or in individual links in the food chain. The most commonly used among them are as follows:

• ISO 22000: 2005 Food Safety Management Systems – requirements for any food chain organization – a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO);
• BRС (British Retail Consortium Global Standard);
• IFS (International Food Standard) – an international standard for retailers;
• Dutch HACCP – the Dutch standard of the HACCP system;
• FSSC 22000: 2010 is a standard for manufacturers of certain categories of food, combining the requirements of ISO 22000: 2005 and PAS 220: 2008, adopted by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI).

HACCP Principles:

The HACCP concept is based on 7 principles that indicate how to establish, ensure the implementation and manage HACCP in production. The HACCP principles are focusing on the identification, monitoring and control of hazards at critical control points throughout the production chain:

1. Conducting an analysis of possible hazards;
2. Determination of critical control points (CCP);
3. Establishing the critical limits for control measures linked to each identified CCP.
4. Establishing the monitoring system to control the CCP.
5. Establishing the corrective actions to be taken in the case when the monitoring results show that a certain CCP is out of control.
6. Establishing the verification procedures to confirm that the HACCP system is operating efficiently.
7. Development of methods for documenting all procedures and record keeping related to the implementation of these principles.​

(HACCP Principles, Download pdf) 

Who needs HACCP?

The following food market operators should introduce the concept of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) in stages:

• manufacturers of ingredients;
• manufacturers and suppliers of food (including dietary supplements, food for special medical purposes, food for weight control);
• wholesale and retail enterprises;
• public catering facilities;
• organizations that provide transportation, storage and distribution of food products;
• organizations that provide washing and disinfecting for food production enterprises;
• manufacturers and suppliers of food industry equipment;
• manufacturers and suppliers of detergents and disinfectants;
• manufacturers and suppliers of packaging and other materials in contact with food.

(Who needs HACCP, Download pdf) 

Cratia offers services on the analysis of the current situation, development and implementation of the HACCP principles, for subsequent certification and improvement of safety of the final products and/or services.

Our work can be provisionally divided into several stages:

• a preliminary audit (usually on-site) of an enterprise in order to familiarize with all production processes;
• determination of production conditions (identification of biological, chemical, qualitative and physical factors that adversely affect the safety of final products), storage conditions, number of personnel involved;
• identification of hazardous and critical control points in the whole chain of production processes;
• development of corrective action procedures that are aimed at improving the level of safety;
• development of a procedure for monitoring critical control points and development of corrective action procedures;
• development of documentation according to the requirements of ISO 22000 standard – from document management procedures to corrective action procedures;
• implementation of ISO 22000, training of enterprise personnel in the basic requirements of ISO 22000;
• preparation and maintenance of certification, conducting pre-certification audit in order to eliminate superficial remarks;
• certification performed by the Certification Body and obtaining ISO 22000 certificate;
• support in maintaining the HACCP concept.

We are ready to develop and implement HACCP taking into account all the characteristics of your company, as well as the goals pursued. Such an approach allows to leave the production process as is, and to draft documentation on an already established process.
(Graphical representation of HACCP (ISO 22000), Download pdf)

Cratia is ready to provide the aforementioned services not only for Ukrainian producers, but also for the countries of the former Soviet Union, including: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

If you cannot determine whether the HACCP principles are applicable to your type of activity, please contact us.