What role does microbiological testing play in HACCP Programs?
Microbiological testing can play a valuable role in HACCP programs as a means for verifying the HACCP system is working properly and to track trends and profiles of products. By tracking microbiological data, plants can identify when the production process is not being properly controlled or verify that prevention efforts are successfully reducing bacterial levels. End-product microbiological testing, however, is less effective. There is not sufficient data to determine what is considered an “acceptable” level of bacteria on raw meat and poultry, so an end-product test will not provide useful data, other than for trends analysis. While end-product testing may indicate bacteria are present, it does not solve the problem of identifying and eliminating contamination. What role do other new technologies play in HACCP? New technologies will play critical roles in HACCP programs since HACCP is designed to institute practices that reduce or eliminate harmful contamination. If new technologies
