HACCP PlaN

Enclosures:

(1)   – Monitoring Procedures and Corrective Action Plan.

(2)   – HACCP Definition of Terms

DiCarlo Distributors Inc (DiCarlo) HACCP Plan is in accordance with the principles of HACCP to ensure control of hazards, which are significant for food safety in the receiving, storage and distribution segment of the food chain. 

There are 7 HACCP Principles:

1.      Hazard Analysis

2.      Critical control point identification

3.      Setting critical limits

4.      Establishing monitoring procedures    

5.      Establishing corrective action

6.      Record keeping requirements

7.      Verification 

DiCarlo Distributors Inc. (DiCarlo) has developed a comprehensive HACCP Plan including a HACCP Team, detailed process and fully integrated training program for all employees to ensure all food products are handled safely and properly throughout the distribution cycle.  Below are the details of the HACCP Plan.

HACCP Team

·         Vincent DiCarlo Sr, President, DiCarlo Distributors Inc (Senior Verifying Official)

·         John Yancigay, General Manager (HACCP Team Leader)

·         Martin Minogue, Operations Manager (HACCP Lead Specialist)

·         Al Bonne, QC Manager and Dominic Chiarelli, Maintenance Supervisor, (HACCP Specialists)

·         Steven Wickwire, Warehouse Manager and Bernie Behnke, Warehouse Supervisor (HACCP Warehouse Specialists) 

·         Joanne Hitchcock, Assistant to the General Manager (HACCP Administrator)

Products under consideration for the DiCarlo HACCP Plan:

·         Fresh PRODUCE

·         Fresh SEAFOOD / SHELLFISH

·         Fresh MEATS

·         Fresh / Frozen POULTRY

The Product's Intended Use

·        The intended use for the products identified above is to receive, store and ship to the end user who may consume it immediately or further process the product for the end user.  No processing or manufacturing is done on the premises.

Product Flow Diagrams:

On-Site Confirmation of Flow Diagram

·         The HACCP Team works with warehouse personnel to become intimately familiar with the conditions and variables within the facility.  Along with DiCarlo’s 24-hours, 7 days-a-week refrigeration and freezer monitoring, all storage locations are visited daily to ensure temperatures and storage conditions meet or exceed the HACCP Plan requirements.  If at any time any condition start to approach an unsafe level, product is immediately moved until the conditions can be properly restored.

Hazard Identification

·         The three types of hazards:

1.      Biological: Typically foodborne bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli, also viruses, algae, parasites and fungi.

2.      Chemical: There are three principle types of chemical toxins found in foods: naturally occurring chemicals, e.g. cyanides in some root crops, and allergenic compounds in peanuts; toxins produced by micro-organisms, e.g. mycotoxins, and algal toxins; and chemicals added to the product by man to control an identified problem, e.g fungicides or insecticides.

3.      Physical: Contaminants such as broken glass, metal fragments, insects or stones.

·         At DICARLO, HACCP Personnel continually check for the three types of hazards, biological, chemical and physical, at all points in the flow diagram.  Monthly training takes place in order to keep all personnel in the food-handling loop aware of the possible hazards associated with food distribution.

 Critical Control Points (CCPs):

·         CCP are identified in Enclosure (1) – Monitoring Procedures and Corrective action.

 Critical Limits For Each CCP

·         DiCarlo Critical Limits are specified in Enclosure (1) - Monitoring Procedures and Corrective Action and validated for each CCP.

·         The temperatures of DiCarlo delivery vehicles transporting shellfish (longer than one hour from dockside) are below 40^oF and above freezing.  Product moving from the refrigerated dock to storage is staged on the dock no longer than 60 minutes at a temperature below 50^oF (10^oC) upon receiving.  The refrigerator temperature will remain below 40^oF and time spent in refrigerated storage does not lapse product dates.  Product moving from the refrigerated dock to delivery vehicles is less than 30 minutes.

Monitoring Procedure (see Enclosure 1)

·         At DiCarlo, product receivers take the temperature of the delivery vehicle to be recorded on the truck inspection form.  They ensure that appropriate tags or labels are affixed to product by the vendor.  Temperature readings of fresh fish, seafood and refrigerated storage areas are completed three times daily. Night management personnel verify temperature settings of outgoing delivery vehicles.  All refrigerated areas are monitored 24 hours a day / 7 days a week on-site and remotely by an outside vendor.  All refrigerator and freezer zones have a minimum and maximum alarm setting to prevent and/or minimize product loss or damage. 

Corrective Action (see Enclosure 1)

·         DiCarlo’s corrective actions are set for each step in the flow charts.  If a failure to maintain any of the CCP’s within the distribution cycle occurs, a determination is made if the product is still safe for human consumption.  An annual re-evaluation of the procedures is completed to determine if revisions to the plan are necessary.

 HACCP Plan Verification

·         DiCarlo management reviews receiving documents and temperature control logs weekly.  The entire HACCP plan is review in depth and revised as needed on an annual basis.

Keeping record

·         DiCarlo uses logs, checklists, monitoring devices, a 24/7 outside vendor and verification records and control charts to ensure all records are up to date and capture all significant events. 

·         At DiCarlo only HACCP trained DiCarlo Food Service employees review accumulated data and make changes to the HACCP Plan.  All employees are trained in HACCP and are encouraged to make recommendations to the HACCP team.

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HACCP Plan Policy and Procedures  

Enclosure 1

Monitoring Procedures / Corrective Actions Plan

Critical Control Point

Critical Limits

Produce 34 – 55^oF

Seafood 32 – 45^oF

Shellfish 32 – 45^oF

Meat & Poultry 28 – 34^oF

Frozen < 10^oF 

Receiving Procedure:

1.      Receiver visually checks vehicles delivering to DiCarlo for:

1. Holes in the vehicles floors and walls
2. Signs of pest or insect infestation
3. Leaking product
4. Puddles of dirty water
5. Correct temperature
6. Unnatural or unusual odors
7. Shellfish tags and record data

Corrective Action

1.      Refuse all products that have been contaminated or may have been contaminated due to faulty equipment or temperature violations.  Refuse shellfish missing Original Shippers Certificate. 

Coolers/Freezer Storage Procedure:

1.      Visually check and record temperatures three times daily.

Produce Cooler       45 – 52°F

Main Cooler       32 – 40°F

Meat Cooler      28 – 34°F

Freezer           < 10°F

2.      Visually check for cleanliness and loose debris.

3.      Visually check for proper food placement.

4.      Visually check of condition of floors and drains.

Corrective Action

1.      Place service call with HVAC vendor.

2.      Check product temperature and move to alternate cooler or ice products if needed.

3.      Report loose debris to Maintenance Department.

4.      Report standing water to Maintenance Department. 

Enclosure 1

Product Selecting (picking and pallet staging) Procedure:

1.      Select correct product.  Verify product description matches the pick label.

2.      Visually check for leakage, which could cause cross contamination.

3.      Stage fresh seafood, meats or iced produce vertically on pallet. Like product on top of each other.

Corrective Action

1.      Report to supervision any discrepancy between pick label and the product description.

2.      Report all leaking products to supervision for proper disposal.  

Product Shipping Procedure:

1.      Visually inspect vehicle to be loaded for loose debris or damage to floor, wall or roof.

2.      Visually inspect for cleanliness, standing dirty water and signs of rodent or pest activity.

3.      Check for any unusual odors.

4.      Ensure refrigeration unit is operational in order to maintain proper temperature.

5.      Ensure all shipping vehicles are pre-cooled prior to loading.

6.      Ensure products are not comingled 

Corrective Action

1.      Remove debris.

2.      Call leasing company for repair or replacement vehicle.

Enclosure 2

HACCP Definition of Terms

Control (verb): To take all necessary actions to ensure and maintain compliance with criteria established in the HACCP plan.

Control (noun): The state wherein correct procedures are being followed and criteria are being met.

Control measure: Any action and activity that can be used to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Corrective action: Any action to be taken when the results of monitoring at the CCP indicate a loss of control.

Critical Control Point (CCP): A step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Critical limit: A criterion, which separates acceptability from unacceptability, when monitoring a critical control point.

Deviation: Failure to meet a critical limit.

Flow diagram: A systematic representation of the sequence of steps or operations used in the production or manufacture of a particular food item.

HACCP: A system that identifies, evaluates, and controls hazards, which are significant for food safety.

HACCP plan: A document prepared in accordance with the principles of HACCP to ensure control of hazards, which are significant for food safety in the segment of the food chain under consideration.

Hazard: A biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.

Hazard analysis: The process of collecting and evaluating information on hazards and conditions leading to their presence to decide which are significant for food safety and therefore should be addressed in the HACCP plan.

Monitor: The act of conducting a planned sequence of observations or measurements of control parameters to assess whether a CCP is under control.

Step: A point, procedure, operation or stage in the food chain including raw materials, from primary production to final consumption.

Validation: Obtaining evidence that the elements of the HACCP plan are effective.

Enclosure 2

Verification: The application of methods, procedures, tests and other evaluations, in addition to monitoring to determine compliance with the HACCP plan.

Acceptable level: The level of a safety hazard, which is considered to present an acceptable, low risk to the consumer. The acceptable level of the final product, sometimes referred to as a target level, should be stated in the product description and would normally be set at, or below, any regulatory limits. An acceptable level for a hazard at an intermediate step in the product flow diagram can be set higher than that of the final product, provided that the acceptable level in the final product will be achieved.

Product system: The complete system, including: all pre- and post- harvest activities such as growing, harvesting, drying, storage, processing, marketing, and preparation for home consumption.

Product flow diagram: A flow diagram, which details and numbers each step in the product system.

Decision tree: A series of questions linked diagrammatically to be answered with Yes or No. The answers determine which path is followed and which decision this leads to.

Primary trader: The first trader in the marketing chain who typically buys small quantities of product direct from farmers and accumulates these for dispatch to a secondary trader. The primary trader will often carry out partial drying and temporary storage.

Product disposition: How the product is to be utilized. If a deviation occurs at a CCP, then part of the corrective action will be to amend the product disposition.

Real hazard: A hazard, which has been identified as having a significant risk of being present.

Risk: May take a value from zero to one depending on the degree of certainty that the hazard will be absent or that it will be present.

Safe moisture content: the moisture content at or below which toxigenic moulds cannot grow. Relates to a minimum water activity for mould growth and toxin production.

Secondary trader: A trader who typically buys product from a primary trader and (further) dries and stores it.

Target level: The acceptable level of a hazard in the final product, such as the regulatory level of mycotoxin in a product description.

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