| dc.description.abstract | While consumption of food gives material pleasure and a healthy life, contaminated food can
be dangerous to health. Therefore, quality of food is very important. Even from the producers’
point of view, selling high quality food can be viewed as a competitive strategy to overcome
competition. With the recent agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, World
Trade Organization (WTO) has made it mandatory for all member states to follow international
food standards guidelines in the sphere of foreign trade. An important element of these guidelines is
the compliance with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a management system
for food safety. Indian firms will have to adopt these guidelines, else they will have to face nontrade-
barriers in the export market. In this paper, I try to give a comprehensive treatment to
HACCP and related food safety issues. I present the historical development of the system, give a
theoretical background, and describe the actual procedure for implementing HACCP. It is hoped
that food processing industry takes a lead in developing HACCP plans for the diverse range of
domestic food products. This has a potential not only to improve food quality but also to give Indian
firms a competitive advantage over others both in the domestic and export market. | en |
