(PROP); food safety; small and medium enterprise bakery This article provides technical details concerning the development and implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) in one of the largest bakeries of Cova da Beira -Portugal. A generic HACCP plan in accordance with legal requirements was made through a detailed audit and analysis of data collected in the company. It was verifi ed by overview of the HACCP system implemented in the bakery, that there was no reduction in quality of the fi nal product during the manufacturing process and the implementation of the requirements was particularly strong, having been instrumental the total commitment and sense of responsibility of all workers. Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/11/18 8:50 PM
216HACCP in a SME: Case Study of a Bakery of the people who both developed and operate it, and the prerequisite programs, that support it [Mortimore, 2001].To prevent, reduce or eliminate contamination of food during storage and preparation, every aspect should be controlled using pre-requisite procedures and a HACCP plan. The prerequisites provide the foundation for effective HACCP implementation and should be in operation before HACCP. Once this has been achieved, the HACCP plan may be developed and implemented. As a general rule the prerequisites should be used to control hazards associated with the food service environment (premises and structures, services, personnel, plant and equipment), while HACCP should be used to control hazards associated directly with food processes (storage and preparation) [Bolton & Maunsell, 2004]. Therefore, pre-requisites are an essential element in the task of developing simple, effective HACCP systems, but in many areas there is a lack of understanding of the prerequisites concept, and even a fear in some sectors that prerequisites might dilute the strength of HACCP [Wallace & Williams, 2001].HACCP has been progressively introduced and applied in food industry, but HACCP systems have not been homogeneously implemented across all food industry sectors, more by technical barriers (Barriers prior to HACCP implementation are: illusion of control, company size, type of product, company's customers food safety requirements, etc.; Barriers during the process of HACCP implementation are: Management, Personnel, Infrastructure; and Barriers after HACCP systems have been implemented are: Diffi culties in verifi cation and validation of HACCP) and unwillingness by manufacturers [Panisello & Quantick, 2001]. Experiences highlighted a number of barriers, burdens and also perceived benefi ts of the successful implementation and operation of HACCP [Taylor, 2001;Bas et al., 2007;Jeng & Fang, 2003;Eves & Dervesi, 2005;Taylor & Kane, 2005;Damikouka et al., 2007].A recent study realized by Mensah & Julien [2011] shows that there is no signifi cant effect of size of enterprise on the drivers, benefi ts and challenges to compliance with food safety regulation. However, importance has been given to the specifi c situation of the Small and Mediu...
