Step 4 Risk Assessment

The purpose of risk assessment is to clarify those areas and functions of your operations which pose the greatest threat.

The Co-op needs to be certain that risks to employees, produce, and consumers, are identified and minimised.
By controlling hazards at source, residues are easier to reduce.

You will need to assess various hazards to determine significant risks - ie those that you need to do something about.
Following what you already do for HACCP and CoSHH, you need to :

* Identify any hazards that must be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels
* Identify the critical control points at the steps where control is essential to control a hazard to acceptable levels
* Establish critical limits at critical control points which separate acceptability from unacceptability for particular hazards
* Implement effective monitoring procedures at critical control points
* Take corrective actions when a critical control point is not under control
* Establish procedures to verify that the measures outlined above
* Establish documents and records in line with the nature and size of your business to demonstrate the above.

Your HACCP needs to include aspects of pesticide management that affect food safety e.g. applications of waxes containing pesticide and post harvest treatment.

Step 4 contd Risk Assessment Visits