Richard B. Belzer
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Introduction
The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to require official plants that process egg products to develop and implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (Sanitation SOPs). At the same time, FSIS would eliminate certain existing regulatory requirements that it considers inconsistent with HACCP, Sanitation SOPs, and other new regulatory requirements, but add new labeling requirements. Official plants would be subject to the regulation, and all manufacturing facilities that process egg products must be official plants.
HAACP is a process management system that includes the identification of food safety hazards, the identification of critical control points for managing hazards using process monitoring equipment, and the conduct of a hazard analysis, all combined into a HACCP plan that includes prescribed preventive measures and corrective actions taken in response to exceedances of a critical limit. A key feature of HACCP-style regulation is extensive recordkeeping used for validation, verification, and reassessment with a focus on continuous improvement toward zero risk.
FSIS characterizes the proposed rule as deregulatory, with an estimated cost saving of $1.29 million ($2016) per year.