Procedure for applying for HACCP certification

The HACCP certification of the third-party certification body can not only provide strong evidence for the level of food safety control of the enterprise, but also promote the continuous improvement of the HACCP system of the enterprise, especially, it will effectively improve the customer's level of trust in the enterprise's food safety control. In international food trade, more and more importing country officials or customers require suppliers to establish a HACCP system and provide relevant certificates, otherwise the products will not be accepted. According to Zhu Xiaonan, director of the HACCP Certification Coordination Center of China Import and Export Commodity Inspection Corporation, HACCP system certification is usually divided into four stages, namely the enterprise application stage, the certification audit stage, the certificate maintenance stage, and the review and renewal stage.

Enterprise application stage

First of all, enterprises applying for HACCP certification must pay attention to choosing a third-party certification body recognized by the state, with qualifications and senior professional background, so as to ensure the authority of the certification and the validity of the certificate, and ensure that the certification results are connected with the official verification system of the country where the product is consumed. In my country, the certification and accreditation work is under the unified management of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration, and its subsidiary China National Certification and Accreditation Board for Import and Export Enterprises (CNAB) is responsible for the implementation of HACCP certification body accreditation. The certification body is engaged in the certification of HACCP.

The certification body will evaluate the certification application, documents, and audit basis agreed by both parties, etc. provided by the applicant. The certification body will decide to accept the application of the enterprise according to its own professional resources and the scope of audit business authorized by CNAB, and sign a certification contract with the applicant.

After the certification body accepts the application of the enterprise, the applicant enterprise should submit the procedural documents and materials related to the HACCP system, such as: hazard analysis, HACCP plan, scientific basis for determining CCP points, plant floor plan, production process flow chart, workshop layout, etc. . The applicant enterprise should also declare that the HACCP system has been fully operated. The certification body is responsible for the confidentiality of all materials and information provided and imparted by the enterprise. The certification fee will be charged according to the standard set by CNAB according to the scale of the enterprise, the variety of certified products, the process, the safety risk and the number of man-days required for the audit.

Certification audit stage

The certification body will determine an audit team after accepting the application, and conduct an initial visit and audit of the applicant's HACCP system according to the proposed audit plan. In view of the technical depth of the HACCP system audit, the audit team usually includes professional auditors who are familiar with the production of audited products. Professional auditors are those who have a specific background in food production and processing and are engaged in the certification of food safety systems based on HACCP. When necessary, the review team will also hire technical experts to provide technical guidance for the review process. The food safety consultant hired by the applicant may participate in the audit process as an observer.

The audit process of HACCP system is usually divided into two stages. The first stage is to conduct document audit, including SSOP plan, GMP program, employee training plan, equipment maintenance plan, HACCP plan, etc. The review at this stage generally needs to be carried out at the applicant's site, so that the review team can collect more necessary information. The audit team will conduct an independent hazard analysis based on the collected information, and on this basis, reach a consensus with the applicant on the critical control point (CCP) judgment vision. The review team will listen to the applicant's feedback on the information and agree with the applicant on the details of the second phase of the review. The second stage audit must be conducted at the auditor's site. The audit team will mainly evaluate the suitability, compliance and effectiveness of the HACCP system, GMP or SSOP. Special attention will be paid to CCP monitoring, corrective measures, verification, training and education of monitoring personnel, and whether the system can consciously conduct hazard analysis and control effectively when new hazards arise.

At the end of the on-site audit, the audit team will submit a non-conformance report to the applicant according to the audit situation. The applicant should take effective corrective measures within the specified time, and close the non-conformity after verification by the audit team. At the same time, the audit team will finalize the audit results. Submit the certification body to make a certification decision, and the certification body will issue a certification to the applicant.

Certificate retention stage

Since HACCP is a safety control system, its certification certificate is usually valid for a maximum of one year. The certified enterprise should ensure the continuous operation of the HACCP system within the validity period of the certificate, and must accept the supervision and audit of the certification body at least once every six months. If the certified party has made major changes to its HACCP-based food safety system within the validity period of the certificate, it should notify the certification body, and the certification body will increase the frequency of supervision and certification or arrange for a review as appropriate.

Re-examination and renewal stage

The certification body will arrange a review of the system before the end of the validity period of the HACCP certificate of the certified enterprise, and the certification body will issue a new certificate to the certified enterprise after the review.

In addition, according to regulations and customer requirements, within the validity period of the certificate, the certified party may also accept official and customer verification of the HACCP system.