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food safety

HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) TRAINING COURSE

Antonio Alcaraz · December 5, 2023 ·

VIRTUAL COURSE

December 5 @ 12:00 pm – December 7 @ 12:00 pm

December 5 @ 12:00 pm – December 7 @ 12:00 pm

The Deibel Laboratories HACCP training program is designed to meet the USDA’s training requirements (9 CFR 417) and provides hazard analysis training for FDA regulated facilities that must have a FSMA mandated Food Safety Plan in place. Food Safety Plans must include an analysis of hazards with associated risk-based preventive controls. This course is accredited by the International HACCP Alliance. Participants receive a certificate with the HACCP Alliance seal upon completion of the course. The training program is conducted by our HACCP Alliance Lead Instructors.
Dr. Robert Deibel was one of the original pioneers of HACCP. He developed the HACCP concept from its original three HACCP principles to five, paving the way for the seven principles in place today. He also developed the first “HACCP Short Course” and pioneered training for industry leaders in the early 1970’s. We are proud of this history and continue this excellent tradition in the courses we teach today.

ABOUT THE COURSE
• This is a 2.5 day interactive virtual class that includes a HACCP Training Manual and a certificate with the HACCP Alliance seal.
• Participants will gain an understanding of HACCP systems and how they are used to manage and control the hazards encountered in food manufacturing facilities. This will include the development of a model HACCP plan
• Discussions will include how to perform a hazard analysis, conduct process validations, prepare for and develop HACCP plan audits, and establish pre-requisite program verifications.
• The integration of HACCP plans into FSMA mandated Food Safety Plans will also be discussed in relation to the FDA regulated food industry.

AT THE CONCLUSION, PARTICIPANTS WILL


• Understand the importance of HACCP Pre-requisite programs including GMPs, Pest Control and Sanitation.
• Be able to recognize the hazards that must be identified when conducting a hazard analysis.
• Learn how manage significant food safety hazards through the use of preventive controls and Critical Control Points (CCPs).
• Understand how to develop and implement a HACCP plan that manages identified hazards with associated controls, and maintains the effectiveness of those controls through verification and validation activities.

HACCP Instructors

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MICROBIOLOGY “101”: FUNDAMENTALS OF MICROBIOLOGY FOR FOOD INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

Antonio Alcaraz · November 15, 2023 ·

Virtual Educational Course

November 15 All day

Understanding the microorganisms that threaten Food Safety and cause food spoilage is fundamental to manufacturing safe and wholesome food products. Microorganisms are everywhere but how can they be controlled in a food production facility?
This course will cover the basics of food safety microbiology and arm you with the information you need to avoid microbial contamination and produce safe food products.
The course features an innovative format, with interactive discussions as well as “virtual lab” demonstrations of microbial detection methods.

Course Topics Include:

• Microbial Ecology: Food safety depends on knowing the conditions that encourage microbial growth and knowing how to keep pathogens out, kill them or keep them from growing.
• Food-borne Pathogens: An understanding of Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and other pathogens of concern can lead to better strategies for control.
• Indicator organisms: These nonpathogenic organisms are valuable verification tools for hygiene and process controls.
• Spoilage: Yeast and mold are major players in food spoilage. Knowing how to detect, identify and control them can extend shelf life.
• Sampling and Testing: Statistically representative sampling plans and standard methods of analysis are critical to obtaining credible data by which food safety decisions can be made.
• Current Food Safety Issues: Staying informed about foodborne illness outbreaks, recalls and regulations is essential to managing your Food Safety Plan.

Microbiology 101 Team

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For more information on Microbiology “101” training offered by Deibel Laboratories, please contact Sales at Sales@DeibelLabs.com (847-329-9900).

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HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) TRAINING COURSE

Antonio Alcaraz · October 10, 2023 ·

VIRTUAL COURSE

October 10 – October 12

October 10 – October 12

The Deibel Laboratories HACCP training program is designed to meet the USDA’s training requirements (9 CFR 417) and provides hazard analysis training for FDA regulated facilities that must have a FSMA mandated Food Safety Plan in place. Food Safety Plans must include an analysis of hazards with associated risk-based preventive controls. This course is accredited by the International HACCP Alliance. Participants receive a certificate with the HACCP Alliance seal upon completion of the course. The training program is conducted by our HACCP Alliance Lead Instructors.
Dr. Robert Deibel was one of the original pioneers of HACCP. He developed the HACCP concept from its original three HACCP principles to five, paving the way for the seven principles in place today. He also developed the first “HACCP Short Course” and pioneered training for industry leaders in the early 1970’s. We are proud of this history and continue this excellent tradition in the courses we teach today.

ABOUT THE COURSE
• This is a 2.5 day interactive virtual class that includes a HACCP Training Manual and a certificate with the HACCP Alliance seal.
• Participants will gain an understanding of HACCP systems and how they are used to manage and control the hazards encountered in food manufacturing facilities. This will include the development of a model HACCP plan
• Discussions will include how to perform a hazard analysis, conduct process validations, prepare for and develop HACCP plan audits, and establish pre-requisite program verifications.
• The integration of HACCP plans into FSMA mandated Food Safety Plans will also be discussed in relation to the FDA regulated food industry.

AT THE CONCLUSION, PARTICIPANTS WILL


• Understand the importance of HACCP Pre-requisite programs including GMPs, Pest Control and Sanitation.
• Be able to recognize the hazards that must be identified when conducting a hazard analysis.
• Learn how manage significant food safety hazards through the use of preventive controls and Critical Control Points (CCPs).
• Understand how to develop and implement a HACCP plan that manages identified hazards with associated controls, and maintains the effectiveness of those controls through verification and validation activities.

HACCP Instructors

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Retest Analysis: When Original Sample Results and Retest Results Don’t Correlate

Laurie Post · October 3, 2023 ·

By Laurie Post, Ph.D.
When undesirable microorganisms are detected in a production lot, root cause analysis often includes testing additional samples from the affected lot or related lots of product. However, upon reanalysis, even when a larger sample size is used, the suspect organism cannot be detected in the retest analysis. Correlation differences between original and retest results can occur for several reasons:

  1. Distribution pattern of the microorganisms
  2. Lack of representative sampling
  3. Organism die-off
  4. Level of contamination and probabilities of detection

Distribution
The distribution pattern of microorganisms in a production lot affects the likelihood of detecting the organism in the product. For instance, distribution patterns can be Random or Non-Random.

Random Distribution: Microorganisms are distributed evenly throughout the entire lot. Microorganisms will likely be detected. This type of microbial distribution is not a factor of time since at any point in the sampling process there is an equal opportunity to detect the organism in question (Example A).


Non-random Distribution: Microorganisms are not distributed evenly throughout the entire lot. Microorganisms may not be detected by random sampling. This type of distribution is dependent on time since the microbial contamination is only represented at certain intervals in the production cycle without equal opportunity for detection (Examples B and C)

Example B shows a non-random distribution pattern of organisms that can be present at the startup of production. In this case, the food actually cleans the line, so that over time the contaminant is reduced to undetectable levels. If a retest sample of this lot of production is pulled from containers made later in the day, then the retest results will be negative for the target organism, even though the organism was present.

Example C is another example of non-random microbial distribution that can occur when condensate drips onto exposed product. Condensate began to drip sometime after startup and continues throughout the rest of the day, increasing toward shutdown. If retain samples taken at the beginning of the day were selected for retest analysis, the retest samples would likely be negative for the target organism even
though the organism was present in that lot of production.


Sampling
Microbiological analyses are only as good as the sampling procedure used to procure the sample. Every effort must be made to obtain a RANDOM SAMPLE. “Spot sampling” or taking a single sample will not yield a representative sample. FDA recommends taking 30 random 25g samples during the entire production run for Ready-to-Eat products that will be consumed without a process lethal to microbial pathogens. These include products such as cereals, confectionary products, cheese, dairy, spices – and many others (FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual). For fluid and powdered products, most manufacturers employ mechanical or auto-samplers. For discrete products, samples are taken on a time production basis (i.e. one candy bar every half hour) and then the analytical unit (the actual amount tested) is made by compositing. Compositing must be performed carefully and thoughtfully, not only to ensure a representative sample, but also to avoid sample contamination.

Organism Die-off
Organisms contaminating a product may not survive at the same level for long periods of time. For example, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is not capable of long-term survival in an inhospitable matrix, such as chocolate, and will eventually die off. Levels may fall below the ability of an assay to detect the organism.


Levels of Contamination and Probability of Detection
The probability of finding a target organism in a retest sample is based on the probability of finding the target organism in the original sample. If 10 samples are collected for analysis and only one tests positive for a pathogen, the level of contamination is one in ten or 10%. Based on a standard statistical analysis, if there is a 10% chance of finding the target organism in the original sample, then the ability of finding the organism a second time by retest sampling is [10% X 10%] or [0.10 X 0.10 = 0.01] or one in a hundred. Similarly, if the level of contamination is 5%, the probability of finding the positive a second time is one in twenty-five and 1% is one in ten thousand. The short hand version of this is to simply square the level of
contamination, as shown here:

Level of Contamination- Probability of Finding the Target Organism in the Original Sample Probability of Finding the Target Organism in a
Retest Sample
One in two (50%)One in four (25%)
One in four (25%)One in sixteen (6.5%)
One in five (20%)One in twenty five (2.5%)
One in ten (10%)One in a hundred (1%)
One in a hundred (1%)One in ten thousand (0.01%)

There are many factors that can result in correlation differences between original and retest results. But, if a retest is desired, pull many random samples and request a retest as soon as possible.

When To Revalidate A Process Preventive Control

Ryan Maus · October 3, 2023 ·

By Ryan Maus
FSMA legislation (21 CFR §117.160) requires that preventive controls be validated to assure that they are appropriate to control the hazards identified in the food safety plan. Generally, validation occurs:

  • Prior to, or within 90 days of implementation of the food safety plan
  • Whenever a change to a control measure(s) could impact its ability to control the hazard(s)
  • Whenever a reanalysis of the food safety plan reveals the need to do so

Concerning reanalysis of the food safety plan, according to FSMA legislation (21 CFR §117.170), this is required at least once every 3 years or:

  • Whenever new information about potential hazards associated with the food arise
  • Whenever appropriate after an unanticipated food safety problem
  • Whenever you find that a preventive control, combination of preventive controls, or the food safety plan as a whole is ineffective

So what is considered a significant product/process change? Examples from FSPCA’s PCQI training manual include:

  • Raw material changes, including a new supplier (e.g. change in viscosity, moisture levels, particle size; new pathogen hazard identified; increased microbial load)
  • Product or process changes (e.g. reduced water activity, changes in operating parameters, new equipment, equipment is moved)
  • Increasing production volumes that lead to extended run times, changes in bed depth, increased volumes of material in chambers
  • Adverse finding during review or observation of a recurring deviation (i.e. may suggest the validation is no longer adequate)
  • Emerging scientific information on hazards or control measures
  • Changes in consumers profiles and handling (e.g. marketing to children, infants, or an immunocompromised population)

Often, a food producer must consider changes to equipment, such as a heating element, and whether this would impact the equipment’s efficacy in controlling an identified hazard. The most conservative approach to demonstrate the preventive control’s efficacy would be to revalidate the process. However, another approach is to conduct a heat distribution study to verify that the heat distribution did not change significantly in a way that areas of the roaster see lower temperatures than when the roaster was initially validated. This could include collecting data that supports the initial validation, for example, temperature distribution data pre/post heating element replacement. If the analysis of this data indicates the same temperature profile, then you may be able to conclude that the reanalysis does not indicate the need for a full validation study. If the temperature profile has changed, then some additional study would be warranted.

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