About this Video

• Video Title: Árbol de Decisiones del Códex Alimentarius, decidiendo con precisión - Episodio nº 19
• Channel: Marife Montes Luna
• Speakers: Marife Montes Luna
• Duration: 00:41:28

Introduction

This podcast episode explains the Codex Alimentarius decision tree, a tool for determining if significant hazards in the food industry should be defined as critical control points (CCPs). The speaker emphasizes the importance of this tool for effective food safety plans and highlights updates to the decision tree in 2023.

Key Takeaways

• The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international standards, guidelines, and codes of practice designed to protect consumer health and ensure fair food trade. It's managed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, established in 1963 by the FAO and WHO.
• The Codex Alimentarius decision tree helps determine if significant hazards are CCPs. While not mandatory, using the tree is highly recommended for a more reliable food safety system.
• The 2023 update to the decision tree simplifies questions and decision flow, making it more intuitive and efficient. Changes include clearer questions, removal of ambiguities, and better integration with food safety management systems like ISO 22000 and BRCGS.
• The decision tree involves four key questions to determine if a hazard is a CCP. The process emphasizes the importance of having specific control measures in place for significant hazards.
• If a hazard is determined to be a CCP, specific procedures for monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record-keeping must be established.

Here are the answers to your follow-up questions, based solely on the provided transcript of Marife Montes' podcast:

1. What are the two organizations that established the Codex Alimentarius Commission? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

2. What are the four questions included in the 2023 version of the Codex Alimentarius decision tree? The transcript lists these four questions:

   1. Can the significant hazard be controlled to an acceptable level using prerequisite programs (e.g., good practices)?
   2. Are there specific control measures for the identified significant hazard?
   3. Will a subsequent step prevent, eliminate, or reduce the significant hazard to an acceptable level?
   4. Can this step prevent, eliminate, or reduce the significant hazard to an acceptable level?

3. What are the key changes introduced in the 2023 update of the Codex Alimentarius decision tree? The 2023 update simplified the questions and the decision flow. It made the questions clearer and more direct, eliminated ambiguities, and organized the flow to avoid repeated evaluations of hazards. The goal was to make the decision-making process more efficient and better integrated with existing food safety management systems.

4. In the provided example of pre-packaged salads, which stage of production is identified as a critical control point, and why? The washing and disinfection of the vegetables is identified as a critical control point. This is because the speaker determines that this stage requires specific controls to reduce microbiological hazards and that subsequent steps in the process do not further reduce or eliminate these hazards. The control measures implemented in this stage are essential to prevent unsafe food from being produced.

Based on the transcript, here are other important points from Marife Montes' podcast beyond the decision tree:

• The Importance of the Codex Alimentarius: The podcast emphasizes the Codex Alimentarius' global significance in protecting consumer health and promoting fair food trade. It serves as a reference for national legislation and is frequently cited in international trade disputes.

• Significance of Hazards: The podcast stresses that the decision tree should only be applied to hazards identified as significant based on their probability and severity. Hazards deemed non-significant are considered managed through prerequisite programs (PRP).

• Prerequisite Programs (PRPs): The effectiveness of PRPs in controlling non-significant hazards is highlighted. The decision tree helps differentiate which hazards require specific control measures beyond PRPs.

• Practical Application and Examples: The podcast provides a real-world example using pre-packaged salads to illustrate the step-by-step application of the decision tree. This makes the abstract concepts more tangible and understandable.

• CCP Monitoring and Control: Once a CCP is identified, the podcast details the necessary steps for monitoring, including defining what is being controlled, who is responsible, how it will be controlled, when it will be measured, and what the critical limits are. It also emphasizes the need for corrective actions and record-keeping.

• Call to Action: The podcast concludes with a call to action, encouraging listeners to understand and apply the decision tree, review the latest Codex Alimentarius document, identify areas for improvement in their own systems, and share their knowledge with colleagues.