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Food Safety Works Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network

SAFEFOOD NEWS - Fall 1999 - Vol 4 / No. 1

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Very Small Plant HACCP Implementation Begins

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is moving to smooth the way for the implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems in the very small plants. Very small plants are defined as those with fewer than 10 employees or those plants with less than $2.5 million in annual sales. Once the very small plants implement the preventive food safety system next January, all the nation's meat and poultry supply will be produced under HACCP.

Under HACCP, plants are to identify critical control points during their processes where hazards such as microbial contamination can occur, establish controls to prevent or reduce those hazards, and maintain records documenting that the controls are working as intended.

Approximately 300 of the nation's largest plants, those with 500 or more employees, implemented HACCP by January 1998; 2,300 small plants, with between 10 and 499 employees, implemented HACCP in January 1999. Very small plants will implement HACCP in January 2000.

Each state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have a contact and coordinator to provide plant owners with assistance. Plant owners were also sent a list of suggested dates for completing the key milestones leading to a HACCP plan and a video about HACCP.

The Technical Service Center in Omaha, Nebraska, continues to operate its toll free hotline (800-233-3935) to answer questions from very small plant owners or managers. The FSIS will distribute a self-study HACCP package to all the very small plants to help them meet the requirement that someone on staff must have HACCP training.

Source: FSIS Media Release, July 22, 1999: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/phase3.htm

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Updated Monday, August 29, 2011