HACCP not so standard after all?

Posted under Blog Posts, Clinical Food Services, Healthcare I.T., Software Design

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures are designed to keep you safe from microbial nasties that live in your food.  Commercial kitchens are bound by regulations to properly handle, cook, and store food.  Some of the Critical Control Points (CCPs) refer to washing hands and utensils, some refer to cooking food at or above a certain temperature, and some refer to storing food below a certain temperate.

While HACCP is a ‘standard process’ for establishing food safety procedures, there does not appear to be a ‘standardized list’ of types, steps, or protocols for HACCP activities.  I haven’t found any list of things that contains “Anthropometrical Precaution #2: Wash Hands after handling,” or “Thermal Precaution #12: Cook at or above x degrees for a minimum of x minutes,” or “Nasal Precaution #42: Blow nose on clean shirt sleeve.”  This is driving me crazy.

We software developers look for standardized lists of things (usually created by an agency, consortium, or central panel of experts) from which to build databases so that multiple customers can share the same “standard” information, and so that we can update all of my customers when new “standard” information becomes available.  We look for unique identifiers such as numbers, terms, etc to associate with database records to unify all of our customers’ database back to the “standard” lists.

Even more importantly, when you want to generate a JHACO report of risks and precautions for recipes containing chicken, you want to generate a meaningful report that the inspectors will immediately understand across all of the facilities, and you would not want to leave it to each facility to redefine these HACCP items.  Surely, there must be a master list of numbered, referenced, uniquely identified HACCP hazards, control points, and procedure items!?  Sure, software vendors can create their own lists, but where’s the standard rosetta stone with which we all can exchange information?  It’s either a very well-kept secret, or it does not exist.

Maybe there aren’t enough HACCP items to enumerate in a database, or the items are deemed too complex or subtle to encapsulate in a standardized data set?  I doubt it, but if its so simple, why haven’t I found a comprehensive, integrated, and user-friendly HACCP application?  Seen any?