A significant milestone in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) juice safety program will occur in January 2004 when the final phase of implementation for the juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation takes effect. The regulation requires juice processors to use a HACCP system to analyze their processing operations for safety hazards that could occur in their juice products and to establish controls for any hazards likely to occur.
Processing under HACCP represents a significant change in the way juice processors carry out their operations and in the way regulators monitor the safety aspects of the processor’s operations. Both processors and regulators must step up to meet new challenges for a successful transition to the HACCP era. This article will review the significant progress and remaining challenges toward meeting the goal of successful HACCP based operations throughout the juice processing industry.