Once the decision has been made that a preventive control is needed, and justification has been documented in column 4 of the form, the preventive control should be described in column 5. Remember, preventive controls may include:
- Process preventive controls (referred to in HACCP as Critical Control Points)
- Food allergen preventive controls
- Sanitation preventive controls
- Supply-chain program
- Recall plan
Potential preventive control examples
Biological hazards
- Process controls that kill pathogens (e.g., cooking)
- Process controls that prevent growth (e.g.,limit time at improper conditions, temperature controls)
- Supply-chain programs for sensitive ingredients without a kill step
- Sanitation controls that prevent contamination
Chemical hazards
- Supply-chain programs
- Allergen labeling
- Sanitation controls that prevent allergen cross-contact
Physical hazards
- Process controls such as filtering, metal detection, x-ray devices
Finally, it should be noted in column 6 whether the preventive control is applied at this step in the manufacturing process or at a later step in the process.