Food Control and HACCP plan: Preparing and Serving Chicken Liver

Running head: FOOD QUALITY 1
Food Control and HACCP plan: Preparing and Serving Chicken Liver
Author
Institution

FOOD QUALITY 2
Introduction
Generally, a food control plan defines safety procedures that business involved in the sale
or preparation of foodstuffs that are considered high risk, must follow. A food control plan can
be used in pointing out the potential risks while at the same time showing how the potential risks
can be managed. The implication of subscribing to a food control plan is obviously positive;
customers will be confident of the food sold by processors or eateries. This could lead to a
successful food business. For any effective food control plan, individuals have to develop it, get
it to the authorities so that they can evaluate it, register it with the relevant authorities such as the
MPI, get it audited, and finally implement it. On the other hand, Hazard analysis and critical
control points is defined as an approach that is used in ensuring safety from physical, chemical
and biological hazards that make the unfinished product unsafe for human consumption. There
are several principles that define a HACCP framework. The first principle entails carrying out a
hazard analysis. The second principle involves the identification of the critical control points.
The third principle calls for the establishment of the critical limits. The fourth principle involves
monitoring the CCP. The fifth principle entails having a corrective action. This is purposely done
to take care of situations where there is a deviation in the critical limit. The sixth principle entails
verifying the validity of the HACCP plan. The seventh principle of the HACCP involves
adopting a good record keeping strategy. This is particularly important as it documents the
information that can prove the safety of the food. The last principle of HACCP lies in the
premise that HACCPS is not a standalone approach. For it to be functional and fully effective, it
must be based on other programs that are geared towards ensuring the safety of food. Such
programs include the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices).

FOOD QUALITY 3
Case Study: Food Control Plan and HACCP plan for Preparing and Serving
Chicken Liver.
Background of the Study
Interestingly, chicken liver is considered to be high risk food subject to chemical,
biological and physical hazards. Unlike other red meat pieces like chops or steak where
microbial happens on the external surfaces only, livers are unique in that they can be
contaminated both on the outer surfaces and the inside tissues (Hutchison, Harrison, Richardson,
& Tchórzewska, 2015). The most contaminant of livers is known as the Campylobacter. Most
importantly, it is critical to note that the level of Campylobacter prevalence in poultry meat is
quite high when compared to other sources of meat proteins such as beef and mutton. Having
identified the source and level of risk in chicken liver, it is appropriate to determine the controls
necessary for bringing down the infection rates by embracing good heating practices that don’t
interfere with the quality of the chicken liver. A number of recent studies that are based on the
subject of quality control and food safety confirm the fact that the preparation and serving of
chicken liver should not be taken on a light note. As a matter of fact, several research studies
have validated the hypothesis that poorly cooked chicken liver constantly exposes individuals
and the public to food poisoning of the Campylobacter. Most of these research studies were
structured in such a way that the number of times for chicken liver was used as a comparison of
the complaints of symptoms that matched the description of those for Campylobacter.
The research studies indicated that amongst a total of 141 chefs that participated in the
study, between 19 and 52 percent of them did not attain the 70 degree temperature mark that is
necessary to kill the Campylobacter pathogen. What is even surprising is the fact that the public
could rarely identify poorly cooked chicken liver (Hutchison, Harrison, Richardson, &