Good manufacturing practices — A means of controlling biodeterioration

Control of biodeterioration and all aspects of product or operational safety depend upon good manufacturing practices and one of the most effective methods which has been developed to ensure this is by hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP). This is an all embracing philosophy which examines the risk of microbiological biodeterioration from both the survival of spoilage micro-organisms to processing conditions or contamination at all stages of manufacture, and builds in the relevant quality assurance standards and processing specifications to minimise the risk of biodeterioration of the product and does not rely solely upon the analysis of the finished product. For manufacturers this requires knowledge and control of the microbiological quality of the raw materials, packaging components and processing environment; a validation of the ability of any in-process stages to destroy both pathogenic or spoilage micro-organisms and the effectiveness of the preservative system throughout the shelf-life of the product.