As Food Safety Management Systems/HACCP Systems have evolved over the past few years, Auditors are looking beyond the 12 Codex Alimentarius Steps and asking more challenging questions regarding Validation: Validation of CCP, Validation of OPRPs and V...
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As Food Safety Management Systems/HACCP Systems have evolved over the past few years, Auditors are looking beyond the 12 Codex Alimentarius Steps and asking more challenging questions regarding Validation: Validation of CCP, Validation of OPRPs and Validation of Pre-requisites. As Validation is not one of the Seven Codex Principles a certain level of confusion exists amongst Food Safety Professionals as to what exactly is Validation and how does it differ to Verification. There are three specific references to Validation in the BRC Global Food Safety Standard and four in the TFMS.
The requirement for “a Validation Study” to be reviewed annually or after changes in equipment or procedures is a common requirement by 2nd and 3rd party auditors.
The confusion regarding validation is also current in the USA which led to the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) issuing a number of documents to clarify the requirements of HACCP Validation due to the widespread lack of understanding. There are two distinct elements to Validation:
- Scientific or Technical Support for the HACCP System
- Initial practical in-plant demonstration proving the HACCP system can perform as expected
These documents give U.S. food business operators clear guidelines and examples on how to undertake validation studies and removes much of the confusion and doubt that exists.
In the Food Industry, Validation is often undertaken on equipment and processes that have been installed for a number of years and because there was no formal validation at the time of installation, It is often done retrospectively. When the opportunity arise with a new build the DQ, IQ, OQ & PQ (Design Qualification, Installation Qualification, Operational Qualification and Performance Qualification) approach is to be recommended. This Validation course looks at how the traditional FSIS Part I & Part II approach can be merged with the DQ, IQ, OQ & PQ concept.
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