21 April 2004 - As of 1 May, the producers as well as all other persons releasing food into circulation will have to establish the Critical Points System (CPS, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points – HACCP). The amendatory Notice of the MA No. 147/1998 Coll., requires the CPS establishment, respectively good hygienic practice, above all at retail outlets.
Functional Critical Points Sytem should minimalize the risk of food contamination and increase its safety. In principle this means several steps: 1. risk analysis, when is necessary to find such situations during the handling with food, which could pose a threat to its safety, 2. Critical Points determination; in some cases can be found and determined no more than one only point, 3. critical values and limits determination setting for ex. safe storage temperature, 4. values and limits monitoring, which means their continuous surveillance and registration, 5. determination of reparatory measures in cases when it comes to breach of good hygienic practice. The Critical Points System requires to keep a documentation, which shall be saved for prescribed time period.
As the amendatory Notice allows the enterpreneurs to verify good functioning and “adjustment” of the system in practice, the CAFIA inspectors will, untill 30 April 2005, only monitor the Critical Control Point introduction. It will be mainly the small and medium retailers, who will the inspectors provide with consultation and education. Inspection of CPS establishment and functionality at retail outlets will CAFIA initiate with full, e.g. eventually even with penalty consequences, on 1 May 2005.
According to the hitherto wording of appropriate notice, CAFIA has so far inspected the CPS establishment only at food producers. At present time, 80% of them has functional CPS. Others, especially small enterpreneurs, are on course to introduce it. Except for big marketing chains, there is about 50-60 thousand of enterpreneurs selling food in the Czech Republic.
Full wording of the Notice of MA No. 147/1998 Coll., (newly Notice of the MA No. 146/2004 Coll.)can be found on CAFIA website www.szpi.gov.cz.
Article by: D. Kolejková - CAFIA spokesperson