Extent of implementing the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system in Sudanese beef industry

An attempt was made to assess extent of implementing the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system in the Sudanese beef processing factories. Six meat plants scattered in Khartoum State were surveyed for data in HACCP requirements using the recommend HACP checklist. Out side the scope of the HACCP, all these meat plants adopt company policy on product safety with documentation of quality and safety management, address product hygiene and acceptance of raw materials, and also adopt knowledge and understanding of policy at all levels of the organization. Looking into the specific requirements of the HACCP elements, almost none of these plants have documentation of risks to which the product is exposcd from the raw materials until distrihution, no flow diagram describing the production process, no validation of process engineering sheets, never conducted any assessment for potential risks in all production steps, and none of these plants actually address any aspects of the production process. More critical is that all of the six meat plants investigated, seemed not to be concerned about corrective or preventive measures adopted to eliminate or reduce risks to an acceptable level, or possession of HACCP decision tree, or execation of risk assessment and management, or establishment of any specifications regarding critical limits of each step, beside total absence of critical documentation associated with all these HACCP elements. Such extremely poor food safety monitoring is reflected in high level of total viable count of bacteria in beef products (3.7xI0**4 - 7.0x10**5 CFU/G), with other microbial features of E.coli (7-120MPN/G), Staphylococci (3.9xl0 square 2 - 8.0xl0**3 CFU/G) and Salmonella in few sausage samples. W orthmentioning, the effort carried out by half of these meat plants on product description, process control charts relevant to legislation standards with required documentation, and company assurance on safety and quality of end products. Only one third of these factories (2 out of 6) seemed to be concerned about personnel facilities and locker rooms, calibration of instruments, beside implementation of preventive measures for risks already identified