IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEMS BASED ON HACCP APPLICATION BY DR. AMADOU TALL Director INFOPECHE1 BACKGROUND

mean of providing assurance about safety of food that were to be used in the US Space Program. Initially, HACCP was used to control microbial risks in food, and in this way it become the basis for the control of food safety. It has been used in the processing of Low-Acid Canned Food (LACF) for a number of years. It was not until the 1980s that a number of regulatory authorities developed an interest in HACCP as a tool for use in food safety. New and stricter legislation based on the HACCP approach was introduced in major fish markets, notably the USA and EU, to secure safer fish and fishery products. Furthermore, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) gave it international importance through the development of guidelines for HACCP application. The guidelines were adopted by CAC in 1993 and during the following years several Expert Consultations focused on HACCP and its application. In 1997, CAC adopted basic texts on food hygiene, including a revised text on the HACCP system and guidelines for its application