From good hygiene practices to HACCP principles: an interview with Dr Richard Bonne

Dr Richard Bonne worked for over 20 years as a veterinary inspector and university lecturer in food hygiene and quality. More recently, he has become an international expert in food safety and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

His work in the area of quality assurance led him to develop the Comprehensive Hygiene Management method. This promotes good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good hygiene practices (GHP), which are a pre-requisite for HACCP implementation.

The method was successfully used in France, and applied experimentally in 30 businesses in Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The success of the experiment led to publication of a guide, under the title: "Guidelines on HACCP, GMP and GHP for ASEAN food SMEs". This guide has subsequently been used as a training resource in Better Training for Safer Food workshops.

Richard Bonne provided some reflections on the principles behind the guide, its advantages, and its practical uses.

On the basis of which principles has this guide been compiled?

In order to understand this guide, it is necessary to be aware that food-related accidents have a common trigger factor, whether their impact is health-related or economic. On this basis, we created the Comprehensive Hygiene Management method: a hygiene check list for businesses, which allows good hygiene and manufacturing practices to be drawn up and implemented. This guide is the first exhaustive publication on Comprehensive Hygiene Management, and it has been perfected and used over several years in businesses and universities.

What is the connection between “Comprehensive Hygiene Management” and HACCP methods?

Comprehensive Hygiene Management allows for the establishment of good hygiene and manufacturing practices. These are the first steps in the application of HACCP principles, and are viewed as a prerequisite for this. The guide describes the implementation of HACCP, in accordance with the procedure proposed by Codex Alimentarius. It does, however, propose an identification method for critical control points which differs from that of Codex. This method is also based on the common trigger factor of food accidents, which is the founding principle of the guide.

What are the advantages of this guide to good hygiene and manufacturing practices?

Contrary to existing good practice guides which deal with specific types of agro-alimentary production, this guide, by using as its basis the idea of a common trigger factor for all food accidents, can be used in all agro-alimentary SMEs, irrespective of their sector of activity. Within the framework of the programme involving ASEAN member states, the method proposed by the guide has been successfully implemented in business making products ranging from bottled drinking water to fermented Chinese sausages.

How can professionals use the guide in practice?

The guide is made up of four parts – the guide to good practice, HACCP study, HACCP plan, and the audit guide. Professionals can use the information for developing and implementing a risk management system. The auditing tables allow for on-the-spot evaluation of control mechanisms, as well as routine checks of their effectiveness. This will enable any necessary improvements to be made.

Guidelines on HACCP, Good Management Practice, Good Hygiene Practice for ASEAN food SMEs