PROVIDENCE, RI — When it comes to food safety in retail bakeries, it takes a team to keep things up to federal standards.
During an education session at Camp Bread 2024, held March 5-7 by The Bread Bakers Guild of America, Ruben Morawicki, Ph.D., an associate professor of the College of Food Innovation and Technology and director of the Ecolab Center for Culinary Science at Johnson & Wales University, highlighted the ‘must-know” information regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and how bakers can assemble a food safety plan for their bakeries.
“FSMA focuses on prevention, and there are two ways we can try and ensure safety,” Morawicki said. “One is doing the best we can and sending samples for analysis, but that’s cumbersome and doesn’t work very well because it depends on sampling.”
FSMA rules impact almost everyone, with a few exceptions such as USDA products and those in restaurants, grocery stores and farmers markets. But when it comes to the seven FSMA rules, the first one, Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF) was the first one implemented and is the rule that most directly affects bakers and bakery owners.
Businesses that are covered by PCHF require a food safety system, which is created through the development and implementation of a food safety plan, a document with different chapters regarding topics such as Hazard Analysis, preventive controls to mitigate the hazards, and procedures for monitoring, corrective actions and verification.
“The hazard analysis is going to be based on your particular facility and product,” Morawicki explained. “What this means is that you sit with your team and analyze what potential hazards you are going to have.”
There are three types of hazards in food: biological, chemical and physical. Of the three Morawicki identified, allergens are the most critical ones for bakers, especially in the aftermath of sesame being designated one of the top allergens through the FASTER Act.
Hazards can occur naturally, be unintentionally introduced, or be intentionally introduced for economic gain. In turn, the hazard analysis assesses the probability that these hazards will occur and what the implications could be.
Some resources to review when developing a hazard analysis plan include reviewing publications from peer-reviewed journals and trade associations; connecting with knowledgeable personnel such as process authorities and consultants; referencing reliable websites such as the FDA or trade associations; and reviewing the FDA’s guidance documents.
Some preventive controls stipulated by FSMA include the supply chain, process, sanitation and allergen. These are very similar to good manufacturing practices (GMPs) where each step helps negate a potential hazard.
Once the preventive controls are set, establishing a monitoring system, performing corrective actions and setting up a recall program round out the food safety plan.
As companies grow, recipes and SKUs are added, facilities change and more, bakers need to continue to update and improve their respective food safety plans and keep records of everything.
“The FDA does a retrospective inspection, so they normally go to your facility to ask you for records, and based on those records, they determine if you’re doing things right,” Morawicki said. “That’s why record keeping is very, very important.”
Dr. Morawicki will give this presentation again in a virtual format on June 11 at 5 p.m. ET in Spanish.
