H

Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a program developed by the US Food and Drug Administration early in the 1990s for the purpose of eliminating the contamination of food as it is produced, processed, and distributed to consumers. It is designed to be a 'farm-to-fork' approach for ensuring the safety of the food supply. The HACCP program is based on the identification, control, and elimination of food safety hazards through proven scientific methods at critical control points in the process. The general definitions of the terms central to HACCP, according to the National Restaurants Association of the USA, are that hazards include microorganisms that can be grown at any point during the food production process (including storage and those microorganisms or toxins that survive heating); chemicals that can contaminate food, food-contact surfaces, or food-handling utensils; physical objects not intended for consumption that enter food. A critical control point is any operation or process point (such as a preparation step or procedure) where a preventative or control measure can be applied effectively such that it eliminates, removes, or prevents a hazard.