Design of a HACCP plan for the industrial process of vacuum-packed frozen surimi

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system that enables identification, assessment and control of hazards related with production, processing, distribution in order to get safe food. The aim of this study was to design a HACCP plan for implementing in a processing line of vacuum-packed frozen surimi. Surimi is made from fisheries byproducts that may have initial unattractive characteristics and whose industrial processing adds commercial value. Heterogeneous quality of raw products and the high complexity of the industrial flowchart may induce problems in the final sanitary profile of surimi. The methodology was based in the evaluation of the pre-requisite programs, risk evaluation of considered hazards, the application of principles of HACCP and the compliance with European regulations. A HACCP plan is proposed with the scope, the selection of HACCP team, product description and its intended use, the flow diagram of the process, hazard analysis and identification of Critical Control Points (CCP), monitoring system, correction actions and records. The potential hazards identified were: excess of chloride (chemical), remains of fishbone (physical) and growth of human-related pathogens after defrosting (biological). The control measures of CCP are referred as control of time-temperature and pH in pre-wash and defrosting stages and visual inspection during depulping process.