The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to establish or validate specific control measures in a food safety program based on demonstration of the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards.

Assessment must be carried out in a manner that recognises the cultural and literacy requirements of the assessee and is appropriate to the work performed. Competency in this unit must be achieved in accordance with food safety standards and regulations.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of ability to:

select a food supply chain and identify:

known biological food safety hazards that could occur across the chain and could present a risk in food at the point of consumption

likely patterns of growth and transmission from source of contamination to onset of consumer symptoms for pathogens likely to occur in the supply chain, including threshold levels

sources of chemical and physical contamination that could present a food safety risk at the time of food consumption, across the chain

impact and indicators of the presence of biological or chemical food safety hazards throughout the food chain

acceptable levels of contamination. These may be established by reference to relevant legislation and/or reference to system requirements

select one stage in the food supply chain (which must be a medium or high risk business or process) and establish or validate control measures and verification records and procedures.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment may occur in a real or simulated food business context where the simulated context provides access to food safety programs for a multi-staged food supply chain which includes the point of delivery to the consumer.

The selected supply chain must include at least one medium or high risk business and/or process and provide opportunity to apply a depth and breadth of food safety knowledge.

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods should be considered to gather sufficient and valid evidence of competency:

observation and documentation showing the identification of critical aspects of a food chain

questioning to test the level and application of knowledge

workplace example or scenario to produce validated control measures and verification records and procedures for food safety hazards.

Guidance information for assessment

To ensure consistency in one's performance, competency should be demonstrated on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, cases and responsibilities, and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.

Required skills

Ability to:

interpret and apply relevant legislation, codes of practice and technical standards

identify biological, chemical and physical food safety hazards

determine critical control points and critical limits for identified hazards

establish the required procedures, systems and records to monitor critical control points in order to demonstrate that the critical control point is in control

specify required corrective actions and corrections to be taken when critical limits are not achieved

Required knowledge

Knowledge of:

sources of advice and research on foods, processing methods, production technologies and associated food safety hazards and control methods

ways in which food can cause illness and injury, including incidence and trends in food-borne illness

intrinsic and extrinsic factors that can impact on food safety

common biological food safety hazards (including toxin production and spore formation) and conditions required for survival and growth of each, including growth rates, transmission routes, likely carriers and threshold levels

sources of information on acceptable (and legal) levels of biological, chemical and physical contamination

food supply chains and potential of a breakdown in control at one point to impact other parts of the chain

survival and growth requirements of biological food safety hazards

common allergenic substances as described by the Food Standards Code (and may be additionally defined by system owners)

common control methods necessary to eliminate or reduce the risk of food-borne illness to acceptable levels for each common pathogen, including the role of food storage, temperature control, preservation and process methods, traceability, product shelf-life, cleaning and sanitation, and pest control

methods to detect and minimise the risk of food contamination by personal carriers, including convalescent and symptomless carriers, and related minimum legal illness reporting requirements and personal hygiene procedures

the role of microbiological sampling, swabbing and testing in assessing the presence of biological contamination

methods to determine the appropriateness and effectiveness of control measures and critical limits, including identifying the effect of control measures on the identified food safety hazard, method and feasibility of monitoring, the relationship to other control measures, and the severity of consequences and required corrective action in the event of failure of control

types and causes of acute and chronic chemical food borne illness

the food safety and legal impact of chemical contamination, including residual agricultural and environmental chemicals, residual industrial (including cleaning) chemicals, and chemical contamination as a result of packaging methods and materials

physical hazards that pose a food safety risk

common control methods to eliminate or reduce the risk of chemical or physical food-borne illness to acceptable levels for each common form of chemical and physical food safety hazard, including:

chemicals that pose a food safety risk

common food allergens

physical hazards

the role and requirements of prerequisite programs and procedures to eliminate, prevent or reduce biological, chemical and physical food safety hazards to acceptable levels

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Licensing/certification requirements

Licensing and registration arrangements are determined by system owners

Food safety hazards

A food safety hazard is a biological, chemical, or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect in humans (defined in 'Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System and Guidelines for its Application', Codex Alimentarius Commission)

Biological food safety hazards

Common biological food safety hazards include but are not limited to:

Salmonella spp

Campylobacter jejuni

Bacillus cereus

Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium botulinum

Cryptosporidium

Pathogenic escherichia coli

Giardia

Listeria moncytogenes

Shigella spp

Staphylococcus aureus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Yersinia enterocolitica

Hepatitis A virus

Norwalk virus

Classifications by type of micro-organism include:

bacteria

viruses

moulds/fungi

parasites

algae

Chemical food safety hazards

Common origins of chemical contamination may include:

cleaning chemicals

pesticides

veterinary residues

chemical additives

allergenic substances

toxic metals

nitrites, nitrates and N-nitroso compounds

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

plasticizers and packaging migration

phytotoxins

zootoxins

Physical food safety hazards

Physical food safety hazards refer to objects not normally found in food which may cause illness or injury to the consumer

Acceptable levels

Acceptable levels define the level of a particular hazard in the end product that is acceptable to ensure food safety. Acceptable levels are typically defined by:

the Food Standards Code

commonwealth, state or territory legislation or codes

industry codes of practice

international protocols (CODEX Alimentarius)

customer food safety requirements (including intended use)

Prerequisite programs

Prerequisite programs are also referred to as support programs, such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP).

Prerequisite programs can be divided into two categories.

Infrastructure and maintenance programs. These may include:

layout, design and construction of buildings and facilities

supplies of air, water, energy and other utilities

equipment, including preventative maintenance, sanitary design and accessibility for maintenance and cleaning

support services, including waste and sewage disposal

Operational prerequisite programs. These may include:

personal hygiene

cleaning and sanitation

pest control

measures for the prevention of cross-contamination

packaging and labelling procedures

supplier assurance

chemical storage

employee training

maintenance

calibration

document control

internal audit programs

traceability and recall programs

on-farm food safety schemes

inspecting and testing regimes, including analytical and microbiological testing

Critical control point

Critical control point is a step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level

Critical limit

Critical limit refers to criterion which separates acceptability from unacceptability

Food supply chain

Food supply chain refers to a sequence of stages and operations involved in the production, processing, distribution and handling of food from primary production to consumption

Growth requirements

Factors which influence the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms may include:

temperature

water activity

gases

pH

time

moisture

nutrients

Validation

Validation refers to obtaining evidence to confirm that a HACCP-based food safety program is complete and effective and will deliver the expected food safety outcomes

Validation evidence

Validation evidence confirms that control measures are capable of being consistently effective and may include the application of:

existing Australian legislative requirements

challenge tests

peer reviewed scientific papers

targeted scientific reports

validation already carried out in other jurisdictions and recognised by the responsible authority

mathematical modelling (e.g. predictive microbiology models)

industry codes of practice (where implementation by food business is verified during audits)