Mid-air
musings
Meticulous
implementation of HACCP is the key to infallible food safety standards,
says Colin M Banks in conversation with Shuchi Srivastava
In
our attempt to track food safety standard within the corridors of flight
catering units we speak to Colin M Banks the author of the original
HACCP workshop programme for the International Flight Catering Association(IFCA)
Mr Banks acts as an Education Consultant for the IFCA Education Committee.
He has recently retired from the British Airways Health Services after
20 years of experience in medicine, food safety, hygiene and personnel
training.
Who
would you say sets the best example for premium quality in flight catering
services?
British
Airways is the undisputed leader in the optimum installation of food
safety and food control systems. Such stringent quality standards were
a result of the problem that inflicted them 28 years ago when a large
number of first class passengers fell victim to salmonella poisoning,
which resulted in thousands of pounds spent in litigation and
settlements.
I
believe that there still exists a percentage of passengers who refuse
to fly British Airways due to that unfortunate incident. As a result
of this, the British Airways vowed to prevent the re-occurrence of any
such eventuality at any cost.
Consequently,
around the world now the British Airways staff visits and audits every
single flight catering unit that they use. They also audit hotels, and
airport and restaurant lounges where their crew and passengers might
be staying. The head of the environmental health services of British
Airways is the Chairman of the Association of the European Airlines
(AEA), which has devised a HACCP audit system, where they have identified
all the potential critical controls in a flight kitchen together with
the commensurate working practices. This information is shared amongst
the associate airlines that use the AEA systems. The score system is
used as a benchmark and the aim of this exercise is that all flight
catering units around the world should have all their critical controls
up and working.
What
according to you would be the key to the implementation of HACCP?
The
key or the first definite step to the successful implementation of HACCP
is immaculate documentation. Proper maintenance of training records,
information available on suppliers, temperature control measures, the
critical identification of crucial levels at which contamination can
occur and the development of suitable controls is all the more vital
as the food that we are dealing with is prepared in advance. Thus making
the surveillance of control areas all the more sensitive where factors
like temperature abuse, supplier integrity becomes extremely significant.
To me HACCP tells us long in advance what could possibly go wrong.
All
we had in the past was the end-product testing, which is not really
of much use for a flight catering product as a lab test confirming the
presence of salmonella is not really a solution but instead a death
sentence for any flight caterer. The HACCP system guarantees a totally
traceable exercise right from the farm to the fork, which in turn can
only be ensured by the application of a methodical documentation backed
by a strong team effort focused on executing relevant procedures.
How
has your experience been while training Indian personnel in terms of
commitment levels and actual implementation?
I
know for a fact that here in India there is a move forward towards adopting
HACCP largely due to higher levels of customer awareness. The old saying
that “Waiter, waiter there is a fly in my soup” is no longer funny.
If prepared, implemented and followed honestly, HACCP can also be used
as an effective tool to protect organisations from misappropriated claims
of food poisoning.
Like
for instance there have been cases where passengers that have boarded
a flight start to display symptoms of food poisoning and promptly blame
the airlines. Given that bacterial food poisoning requires a considerable
gestation period especially for something like salmonella which takes
close to 10-15 hrs, if all records have been systematically maintained
then allegations could be countered and the source of the problem can
be identified.
One
of the biggest problems that HACCP addresses is physical and chemical
contamination of food, a function even more crucial when seen in the
light of the fact that the presence of foreign bodies in the food are
on the increase, human hair being on the top of the list possibly alongside
insects. Given my line of profession I have had the occasion of visiting
a plethora of international flight catering units and five-star properties
and I maintain that some of the best flight and hotel kitchens are in
India, and I am not just saying this, internationally they are one of
the best, and I mean it sincerely. Why might you ask? Because Indians
are willing to learn, there is a great tradition of heartfelt hospitality,
which I must admit is extremely refreshing. I have had the opportunity
to train the staff of the Oberoi Group of Hotels in both their flight
catering units in Delhi and Mumbai, and the enthusiastic response that
I garnered in terms of complete commitment to internalise international
standards through the means of HACCP was very encouraging. When looking
at the way food flows in a typical flight catering unit the one obvious
point of contamination can occur at the supplier’s end. If units source
supplies from the local market then their control systems should ideally
start from the back door of the kitchen itself. The suppliers should
be clearly instructed to clearly communicate to the flight catering
unit or the airline directly that there are certain items whose quality
is suspect and due to non availability of premium quality wares they
are unable to supply the same. HACCP demands teamwork, a single microbiologist
cannot accomplish what a dedicated HACCP team can.
.....CONTD
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