HACCP and food safety training for brewers

Why beer still needs a food safety plan

Beer has natural defences. Hop compounds inhibit many bacteria, alcohol and low pH make life hard for pathogens and the boil sterilises the wort. Disease-causing bacteria are rarely a problem in finished beer. That does not mean a brewery has no food safety hazards.

Broken glass in a bottle, cleaning chemicals left in a tank, a foreign object from a damaged sack, undeclared allergens and contaminated water are all real risks. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is the internationally recognised method for finding those hazards and showing they are under control.

The seven HACCP principles

HACCP is built on seven principles set out by the Codex Alimentarius:

1. Conduct a hazard analysis.
2. Identify the critical control points (CCPs).
3. Set critical limits for each CCP.
4. Monitor each CCP.
5. Define corrective actions for when a limit is missed.
6. Verify that the system works.
7. Keep records and documentation.

Behind those principles sit prerequisite programmes: cleaning, pest control, staff hygiene, maintenance, supplier approval and water quality. In practice, these basics prevent most problems. HACCP then focuses attention on the few steps where control is essential.

Likely critical control points in a brewery

Every brewery must do its own hazard analysis, because plant and process differ. That said, these steps often come up:

• Wort boiling. A rolling boil, typically for 60 to 90 minutes, sterilises the wort.
• Pasteurisation, where used. One pasteurisation unit (PU) is one minute at 60 °C. The brewery sets a minimum PU for each beer.
• Glass control. Empty bottle inspection and procedures for breakages on the line, especially where returnable bottles are washed and refilled.
• Chemical residues. Rinsing and checking after cleaning in place (CIP), so caustic or acid does not end up in beer.
• Foreign bodies, controlled with sieves, magnets or filters on incoming malt and adjuncts.
• Water. Brewing and rinse water must be potable. Many Indian breweries draw from borewells or municipal supply and treat it on site, so treatment and testing form part of the plan.

Allergens are usually managed through labelling. Barley and wheat contain gluten. Some beers include lactose, nuts or other ingredients that must be declared.

Food safety rules in India

In India, alcoholic beverages fall under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as well as state excise. Breweries need the appropriate FSSAI licence and must follow its hygiene requirements and alcoholic beverage standards, including labelling. FSSAI also expects licensed food businesses to have a trained food safety supervisor. Its Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme is a common route to that training.

Requirements change. They also interact with state excise rules. Check the current FSSAI regulations and notifications, or ask a food safety consultant, rather than relying on what another brewery did a few years ago.

What training to look for

Training comes at different levels:

• Basic food hygiene for everyone who handles product or packaging.
• Food safety supervisor training for the person responsible on site.
• HACCP training for the people who build and maintain the plan, usually quality staff and senior brewers.
• Internal auditor training for anyone who will check that the system works, especially where the brewery seeks a certification such as ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000.

For a brewer moving into quality work, a HACCP course is one of the most useful additions to a CV. Our guide to cellar and packaging jobs shows where these skills are used every day.

Making HACCP work on the floor

A HACCP plan that lives in a binder does nothing. It works when the people at each CCP know the limit, check it and act when it is missed. That means short, clear procedures at the point of use, records that are filled in at the time and not at the end of the shift. It also needs managers who look at those records.

The other half is understanding why each control exists. A brewer who knows why the boil matters, or why a caustic residue is dangerous, follows the procedure on a busy night. One who sees it as paperwork skips it. That understanding of the process is the part most food safety courses assume you already have.

Review the plan whenever something changes: a new beer with a new ingredient, a new canning line, a different cleaning chemical or a new water source. A HACCP plan written for last year's brewery may miss this year's hazards.

Your first step: walk your brewery from malt intake to dispatch and list every point where glass, chemicals or foreign objects could reach the beer. That list is the start of your hazard analysis.