Establish Critical Control Limits
At each critical control point (CCP), critical limits are established and specified. Critical limits are defined as criteria that separate acceptability from unacceptability. A critical limit represents the boundaries that are used to judge whether an operation is producing safe products. Critical limits may be set for factors such as temperature, time (minimum time exposure), physical product dimensions, water activity, moisture level, etc. These parameters, if maintained within boundaries, will confirm the safety of the product.
Critical limits are very often time and temperature related. For example:
- In a catering business refrigerated storage for ready to eat foods would be a CCP and the Critical Limits would be 0°C to 5°C degrees.
- Cooking would also be a CCP and the Critical Limit would be a 75°C degrees.
Always set limits to enable you to identify when a CCP is out of control e.g., when cooking beef burgers, the centre of the burger must reach a minimum temperature of 75°C to ensure pathogens are destroyed.
Critical Limits indicate the absolute tolerance for safety.
In some food businesses, it may not be necessary to have a Critical Limit which is numerical, for example, boiling as a method of control of bacteria may be monitored visually.