GHP

Good Hygiene Practices, or GHPs, form the basis of all food hygiene systems that support the production of safe and suitable food. Food business operators must be aware of hazards that could affect their food and ensure that such hazards are properly managed to protect consumer health. GHPs are the foundation of any effective food safety management programme, and implementing them gives food business operators a system for controlling food safety hazards.

In the context of food safety, a hazard can be defined as any agent or substance associated with food that has the potential to cause harm when the food is ingested. Hazards encountered in foods can be categorized as chemical (e.g. pesticides), biological (e.g. pathogens) or physical (e.g. extraneous materials) all of which can contaminate food at points along the food chain.

Consult the guidance document on the introduction of GHPs and the control of food hazards to:

• understand the principles and guidelines for applying GHPs throughout the food chain to control hazards and ensure food safety;
• be aware of the points were chemical, biological and physical hazards can be introduced throughout the food chain; and
• understand how to apply the elements of GHPs to take a preventative approach to controlling hazards in the food chain.

Further Readings

The selected links refer to online sources relevant to the Section on Introduction and Control of Food Hazards of the FAO GHP and HACCP Toolbox for Food Safety. The chosen links provide valuable online information to gain more in-depth topical knowledge.

(If any of the following links are broken, please notify food-quality@fao.org)

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). 2019. Reference Database for Hazard Identification
• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 2022. Chemical Hazard Database (OpenFoodTox)
• FAO & WHO. 1997. Principles and guidelines for the establishment and application of microbiological criteria related to foods (CAC/GL 21-1997)
• FAO. 2020. FAO Guide to Ranking Food Safety Risks at the National Level
• FAO. 2008. Risk-based food inspection manua
• FAO & WHO. 2023. Codex Alimentarius – Codes of Practice (commodity specific)
• FAO & WHO. 2023. Codex Alimentarius – Contaminants
• FAO & WHO. 2023. Codex Alimentarius – Pesticides
• FAO. 2009. Good Hygienic Practices in the Preparation and Sale of Street Food in Africa – Tools for Training
• New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries. 2023. Food Safety Hazard Database
• US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2022. Food Code
• US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2023. Biological, Chemical, and Physical Contaminants in Animal Food