The purpose of this study is to des

The purpose of this study is to design Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for potato chips production based on actual conditions in the plant. A specific model has been developed to boost the safety and quality of potato chips product in this plant. The spread of some diseases by unsafe products due to pathogen reported makes it important to pay attention to the potential contamination in potato chips production. The prerequisite programs (PRPs), operational prerequisite programs (OPRPs), hazards, critical control point, preventive measure, critical limits, monitoring procedure and corrective actions have been designed in this HACCP plan. The production process of the product was also analyzed scrupulously for this HACCP plan.

Key words: HACCP, Hazard, Critical limit, Potato chips, Plant, Bangladesh



Introduction


HACCP is a short form for the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. It is a system that was developed for assuring pathogen-free foods. It provides precise process control measures for each step of the entire food manufacturing process. HACCP concepts are now not new in food industries. HACCP was first developed in the late
1950s by a team of food scientists and engineers from The Pillsbury Company, the Natick Research Laboratories, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in USA. The team developed a system designed to build quality into the product to ensure food safety for the manned space program (Surak, 2009). In 1993, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) issued its first HACCP standard, which provided the first international definition for HACCP. By 2000, there were many private and national food safety standards among them led to problems in third- party certifications that include ISO 22000: 2005 which is based on HACCP and is known as Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

Now with the introduction of food quality and safety systems HACCP has become synonymous with food safety (Codex, 1993; FAO, 2001). It is a world-wide recognized systematic and preventive approach that addresses biological, chemical and physical hazards through anticipation and prevention, rather than through end-product inspection and testing and thereby reducing the food-borne illness (Gandhi, 2009).A HACCP is a scientific system for process control that has long been used in food production to prevent problems by applying controls at points in a food production

process where hazards could be controlled, reduced or eliminated (USDA, 2006). HACCP is a system of extensive evaluation and control over an entire food production process for the sole purpose of reducing potential food-related health risks to consumers. An HACCP program maintains safety and wholesomeness of meat and poultry because potential hazards that may occur during processing are anticipated, evaluated, controlled and prevented. Processing plants are required to have a HACCP plan for each product (Northcutt & Russell, 2010).

Potato chips Processing Technology is relatively new field of study, research and business strategy in Bangladesh. Currently several business groups are starting to develop the product and expanding their business in this field.

Potato is low acid food and moreover, in potato chips processing, problems associated with the presence of food borne pathogens like Fusarium solani, F. Roseum, Phytophthora erythroseptica and Pythium Species, Erwinia carotovora, Cornybaeterium sepedonieum, Verticillium albo- atrum and Fusarium oxysporum and others have been documented. The traditional quality testing and inspection used in the potato chips factory is applied to the product once a problem presents itself. It is thus difficult to maintain fully product inspection because of lack of trained and skilled manpower, human error in obtaining sufficient samples and so on. HACCP is a science-based system used to ensure that food safety hazards are controlled to prevent unsafe food from reaching the consumer (Bardic, 2001; Mortimore & Wallace 1997; Morris, 1997; IFST, 1998). To ensure safe consumption of potato products, thedesign of HACCP plan is very essential and has great importance in Bangladesh. This study is specifically designed to develop HACCP plan based on the HACCP principles that can be applied in a potato processing plant to replace the traditional inspection and quality procedure in order to prevent the hazards in the product.

Materials and Methods

This study was conducted in Quasem Food Products Ltd. in Gazipur, Bangladesh which is categorized as medium scale plant as production capacity is twelve ton per day and no. of employees are around 100. The restructuring was aimed at expanding the company’s market. Consequently, the company plans for effective quality system to ensure safe and good quality products.

Research method
This study did not use quantitative research. The
purpose of this study was to design a HACCP model not to implement it in the actual situation. Therefore, there is no statistical data. This study

matched a qualitative approach. It gives the intricate details of phenomena that are difficult to convey with quantitative methods. Qualitative research is exploratory and open-minded which is applicable to this study (Patton, 1987).

Research approach
This research was done for a potato chips plant. Based on the seven principles of HACCP, several models of HACCP system (Zhao, 2003; Burson,
1998; Gandhi, 2008; Gandhi, 2009), guidelines (FAO, 2004; FAO, 2003; USDA, 2006) and HACCP requirements (SCV, 2006), the recordkeeping in this study were designed in the following manner. Hazard analysis chart and process step decision matrix (Table-2) is modified from Mortimore and Wallace (1997) model.
1. Prerequisite program
2. Product description.
3. Production Process with flow diagram.
4. Hazards Identification and Critical Control
Point (CCP) Determination
5. HACCP control chart.