The Global Food Chain Project is run by the Bridges Development Education Centre which is a registered charity number 1112128, based in Shropshire.
Bridges aims to increase awareness and understanding of global issues by developing projects for schools and youth and community groups. To find out more about Bridges and other educational projects or resources we have on offer, visit our website at www.shropshirebridges.org.uk
Why was the Global Food Chain project needed?
The Global Food Chain project was developed in response to the Year of Food and Farming Targets 2007, which aims to encourage young people and communities to develop an awareness and understanding of food issues.
Almost 46% of children in the UK have no involvement in growing food and a quarter of all 11-16 year olds have never visited the countryside. With projects like the Global Food Chain Project, we hope to encourage children to learn about healthy food habits and global issues connected to their everyday diets.
Which schools are involved in this project?
Four schools in Shropshire are involved including Hodnet, Ladygrove, Sherrifhales and Stoke on Tern.
How will the project be delivered?
The project will be lead by the participant primary schools with support from the Bridges Development Education Centre and the School Councils, parents and local community organisations.
How long with the project run for?
The project will run from September 2007 to July 2008.
How is this project funded?
The Global Food Chain project is funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and Awards for All.
Each school has been allocated a budget of for school visits and also deciding school actions.
How does this project fit into the existing school standard/initiates?
Schools will be able to use the Global Food Chain project to meet the Healthy Schools Standard and also the Eco School, Growing School and Sustainable School frameworks.
The Bridges Development Education Centre has a number of resources and materials to help each school to do this.
Boring technical items - HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a systematic preventive approach to food safety and pharmaceutical safety that addresses physical, chemical, and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection. HACCP is used in the food industry to identify potential food safety hazards, so that key actions, known as Critical Control Points (CCP's) can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of the hazards being realized. The system is used at all stages of food production and preparation processes including packaging, distribution, etc. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) use mandatory juice, seafood, meat and poultry HACCP programs as an effective approach to food safety and protecting public health. Meat and poultry HACCP systems are regulated by the USDA, while seafood and juice are regulated by the FDA. The use of HACCP is currently voluntary in other food industries.A forerunner to HACCP was developed in the form of production process monitoring during World War II because traditional "end of the pipe" testing wasn't an efficient way to ferret out artillery shells that would not explode. HACCP itself was conceived in the 1960s when the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) asked Pillsburyto design and manufacture the first foods for space flights. Since then, HACCP has been recognized internationally as a logical tool for adapting traditional inspection methods to a modern, science-based, food safety system. Based on risk-assessment, HACCP plans allow both industry and government to allocate their resources efficiently in establishing and auditing safe food production practices. In 1994, the organization of International HACCP Alliance was established initially for the US meat and poultry industries to assist them with implementing HACCP and now its membership has been spread over other professional/industrial areas.Hence, HACCP has been increasingly applied to industries other than food, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This method, which in effect seeks to plan out unsafe practices, differs from traditional "produce and test" quality assurance methods which are less successful and inappropriate for highly perishable foods. In the US, HACCP compliance is regulated by 21 CFR part 120 and 123. Similarly, FAO/WHO published a guideline for all governments to handle the issue in small and less developed food businesses.
The HACCP seven principles
Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis. Plants determine the food safety hazards and identify the preventive measures the plant can apply to control these hazards. A food safety hazard is any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption.
Principle 2: Identify critical control points. A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be applied and, as a result, a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to an acceptable level.
Principle 3: Establish critical limits for each critical control point. A critical limit is the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical hazard must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level.
Principle 4: Establish critical control point monitoring requirements. Monitoring activities are necessary to ensure that the process is under control at each critical control point. In the United States, the FSIS is requiring that each monitoring procedure and its frequency be listed in the HACCP plan.
Principle 5: Establish corrective actions. These are actions to be taken when monitoring indicates a deviation from an established critical limit. The final rule requires a plant's HACCP plan to identify the corrective actions to be taken if a critical limit is not met. Corrective actions are intended to ensure that no product injurious to health or otherwise adulterated as a result of the deviation enters commerce.
Principle 6: Establish record keeping procedures. The HACCP regulation requires that all plants maintain certain documents, including its hazard analysis and written HACCP plan, and records documenting the monitoring of critical control points, critical limits, verification activities, and the handling of processing deviations.
Principle 7: Establish procedures for ensuring the HACCP system is working as intended.Validation ensures that the plants do what they were designed to do; that is, they are successful in ensuring the production of safe product. Plants will be required to validate their own HACCP plans. FSIS will not approve HACCP plans in advance, but will review them for conformance with the final rule.
Verification ensures the HACCP plan is adequate, that is, working as intended. Verification procedures may include such activities as review of HACCP plans, CCP records, critical limits and microbial sampling and analysis. FSIS is requiring that the HACCP plan include verification tasks to be performed by plant personnel. Verification tasks would also be performed by FSIS inspectors. Both FSIS and industry will undertake microbial testing as one of several verification activities. Verification also includes 'validation' - the process of finding evidence for the accuracy of the HACCP system (e.g. scientific evidence for critical limits).
The seven HACCP principles are included in the international system ISO 22000. This standard is a complete food safety management system incorporating the elements of prerequisite programmes for food safety, HACCP and quality management system which together form an organization’s Total Quality Management.
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