what is critical control point

A critical control point (CCP) is a step in a food production process where control can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to acceptable levels any potential food safety hazard. CCPs are usually practices or procedures that, when not done correctly, can lead to foodborne illness outbreaks. Examples of CCPs include cooking, cooling, re-heating, and holding. The identification of CCPs is an important step in risk and reliability analysis for water treatment processes as well. A critical limit is a maximum and/or minimum value to which a biological, chemical, or physical parameter must be controlled at a CCP to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of a food safety hazard. Monitoring is the process of checking to determine if the criteria established by the CCP have been achieved. The FDA defines a critical control point as any process step where control can be applied for the prevention or elimination of any potential food safety hazard.