What is the PNCH and how does it apply to food businesses?
The PNCH, or Standardized Regular Hygiene Control Program, is essential to ensure food safety in food businesses. This program is implemented through the elaboration, design, application and maintenance of standardized procedures that prevent direct contamination of products before and during operations. In addition, the PNCH must include an initial application date and review dates when any modification is made.
What are the objectives of the PNCH in food companies?
The objectives of the PNCH in food businesses are to ensure hygiene, prevent direct contamination of products before and during operations, establish standardized procedures for regular hygiene control, identify those responsible for implementing the specific requirements of the PNCH and establish an initial implementation date and review dates when any changes are made.
Which food companies are obliged to implement the PNCH?
Food companies that want to be authorized to export to third countries are obliged to implement the PNCH. In addition, any establishment that has to develop, apply and maintain a PNCH according to the authorization requirements is also obliged to implement it.
What controls does the PNCH establish for food businesses?
The PNCH establishes four specific requirements that must be met by the food companies that implement it: application and monitoring, corrective actions, maintenance and records. Monitoring is equivalent to surveillance or control, while maintenance is equivalent to evaluation of the effectiveness or verification of the PNCH. In addition, the program must describe the procedures that the food company performs on a daily basis to prevent direct contamination of products prior to operations (pre-operational procedures) and during operations (operational procedures). All these controls can be done through our software PNCH – HIGEA.
Below you can download the documents related to the STANDARDIZED HYGIENE CONTROL PROGRAMME.
If your food company needs to implement the PNCH, do not hesitate to consult our hygiene control program. We offer you a comprehensive and customized solution to ensure food safety in your company. Contact us now!