Elements and Performance Criteria

Food safety hazards
A food safety hazard is a biological, chemical, or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect in humans. (Defined in ' Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System and Guidelines for its Application', Codex Alimentarius Commission).

Biological food safety hazards
Common biological food safety hazards include (but are not limited to):
Salmonella spp
Campylobacter jejuni
Bacillus cereus
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium botulinum
Cryptosporidium
Pathogenic escherichia coli
Giardia
Listeria moncytogenes
Shigella spp
Staphylococcus aureus
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Yersinia enterocolitica
Hepatitis A virus
Norwalk virus
Classifications by type of micro-organism include:
bacteria
viruses
moulds/fungi
parasites
algae

Chemical food safety hazards
Common origins of chemical contamination may include:
cleaning chemicals
pesticides
veterinary residues
chemical additives
allergenic substances
toxic metals
nitrites, nitrates and N-nitroso compounds
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
plasticizers and packaging migration
phytotoxins
zootoxins

Physical food safety hazards
Physical food safety hazards refer to objects not normally found in food which may cause illness or injury to the consumer.

Acceptable levels
Acceptable levels define the level of a particular hazard in the end product that is acceptable to ensure food safety. Acceptable levels are typically defined by:
the Food Standards Code
Commonwealth, state or territory legislation or codes
industry codes of practice
international protocols (CODEX Alimentarius)
customer food safety requirements (including intended use)

Pre-requisite programs
Pre-requisite programs are also referred to as support programs. Examples include Good manufacturing practice (GMP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP).
Pre-requisite programs can be divided into 2 categories.
layout, design and construction of buildings and facilities
supplies of air, water energy and other utilities
equipment including preventative maintenance, sanitary design and accessibility for maintenance and cleaning
support services including waste and sewage disposal
personal hygiene
cleaning and sanitation
pest control
measures for the prevention of cross-contamination
packaging and labelling procedures
supplier assurance
chemical storage
employee training
maintenance
calibration
document control
internal audit programs
traceability and recall programs
on-farm food safety schemes
inspecting and testing regimes, including analytical and microbiological testing

Critical control point
A step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level.

Critical limit
Criterion which separates acceptability from unacceptability

Growth requirements
Factors which influence the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms may include:
temperature
water activity
gases
pH
time
moisture
nutrients

Overview of Assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

All elements, performance criteria, and required skills and knowledge are critical and must be assessed. Critical aspects of assessment must include the following:


Select a food supply chain and identify:

known biological food safety hazards that could occur across the chain and could present a risk in food at the point of consumption
likely patterns of growth and transmission from source of contamination to onset of consumer symptoms for pathogens likely to occur in the supply chain. This includes an understanding of threshold levels
sources of chemical and physical contamination that could present a food safety risk at the time of food consumption, across the chain
impact and indicators of the presence of biological or chemical food safety hazards throughout the food chain
acceptable levels of contamination. These may be established by reference to relevant legislation and/or reference to system requirements.
Select one stage in the food supply chain (which must be a medium or high risk business or process) and establish or validate control measures and verification records and procedures.

Communicating ideas and information
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Collecting analysing and organising information
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Planning and organising activities
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Working with others and in teams
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Using mathematical ideas and techniques
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Solving problems
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Using technology
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