The Hazard Analysis Risk-Based Preventive Controls

In 2011, the U.S. Congress passed, and the president signed into law, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). A key regulation issued under the law is “Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food”. Among the requirements of the regulation is for food manufacturers to develop Hazard Analysis Risk-Based Preventive Control (HARPC) food safety plans. The underlying approach behind HARPC is close to that taken from globally accepted Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Both rely on experience and scientific data to proactively identify and evaluate process-specific food safety hazards and to develop appropriate, effective, and verifiable control measures. In this chapter, the evolution of HARPC from HACCP is discussed and requirements within the FSMA regulation are summarized.