OPRP meaning & how's

OPRP different from

CCP and PRP

 An OPRP is a control measure that is used to minimize the risk of food safety
hazards.
 OPRPs are based on risk and hazard assessment and are used to target specific
food safety hazards.
 Although essential, OPRPs are not critical to the operation and can be
removed without the danger of making the food unsafe.

A part of being a food safety practitioner is understanding the many terms that can be
confusing. Some of the most commonly confused terms are food safety operation
terms. Food safety operations are often divided into different categories
depending on their nature and level of urgency.

If you are currently in the process of building your systemic approach toward food
safety or your Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan, you may have
come across the term operational prerequisite programs or OPRP. Most probably, you
may have also seen the terms prerequisite programs (PRP) and critical control points
(CCP) tied with OPRP. All these food safety programs are essential, but do you
know which one to use for a particular situation?

The food chain industry has already established several ways to control food safety
hazards. Despite the unavoidable presence of food safety hazards in a food
business, foodborne illnesses are very preventable. Achieving the objective of
preventing foodborne illnesses helps reduce the estimated 3,000 deaths per year in the
US and over 400,000 deaths worldwide. The key to preventing these deaths caused by
foodborne illnesses and other customer requirements is the proper application of food
safety operations.

Find out how to properly identify an OPRP and when to apply it in the food supply
chain.

 
OPRP meaning
OPRPs or operational prerequisite programs are control measures that are
essential in controlling a specified food safety hazard to manage their introduction to
the food processing system. The term OPRP was first introduced by the
International Organization of Standardization (ISO) in their food safety
management system for food manufacturers' standards under the ISO 22000
food safety program. The operation was introduced to categorize food safety tasks
that are essential for food safety control, yet are not critical. That is, their absence will
not necessarily dictate that the produced products are unsafe food.
An OPRP's main objective is to minimize the likelihood of contaminating foods
as well as the potential effect of food safety hazards on the finished
product. Although essential in controlling food safety, they can be removed from the
whole production process and the operation will still be safe. In the food industry, it is
easy to confuse the term OPRP with CCP because most of their principles and basic
conditions intersect. 

Although an OPRP must be regularly monitored, it is usually immeasurable through

specific parameters. OPRPs were conceptualized to help a CCP control food safety
hazards and increase their effectiveness. The combination of control measures is
expected to make a HACCP plan more effective. Additionally, an OPRP is
established based on an accurately identified food hazard. They target these
specific hazards rather than addressing the contamination source.

 
Comparison of OPRP, CCP, and PRP
Even for some food safety professionals, the terms OPRP, CCP, and PRP can
sometimes be confusing. All food safety operations are essential for food safety
management but each task must be properly established to achieve its intended
objectives. To do this, a food handler must be able to identify and contrast them apart.

We have prepared a table that summarizes the key areas that can help a food handler
compare each category. 

 
 

Differences among PRP, CCP, and OPRP

The combination of control measures may prove to be more effective in making food
safer than just establishing critical control points. With the help of OPRP and PRP,
hazards and the likelihood of hazard exposure are minimized, making CCP operations
more effective. When properly executed and monitored, the need for corrective action
or the potential of a recall action is less likely to be needed.

Below, we go more in detail regarding the differences between the three control
measures.
 
How is OPRP different from CCP?
Based on the initial definition, the terms OPRP and CCP are often confused to be the
same. The reason behind this is that they have almost the same nature. Both
operations refer to steps for the intended management of food safety hazards within
the processing chain. Although true, OPRPs are not necessarily critical to the
whole operation.

While a critical control point such as properly cooking foods to the correct internal
temperature exists, this operation is not absolute. The whole HACCP plan is not
necessarily a zero-risk program and cannot guarantee absolute control. As such,
upstream operations such as an OPRP were established to help minimize any
imminent food safety risk. 

The key difference between the two operations is that a CCP is the last, critical
step or key control operation to eliminate or minimize potential hazards to an
acceptable limit, whereas an OPRP can be removed from the system and will not
necessarily lead to producing unsafe foods. An OPRP is not considered an intrinsic
step and therefore can be excluded from the system and will not increase the
likelihood of food safety hazards occurring. Despite this fact, an OPRP is regarded as
essential in controlling and ensuring food safety more effectively.

Additionally, a CCP is always established with non-acceptable and acceptable levels

of critical limits. Although both CCP and OPRP are depended on an identified risk or
food safety hazard, the monitoring results of an OPRP cannot be quantified and can
only be evaluated through observable action criteria. A quick example of an OPRP
would be the installation of surveillance cameras in a production setup. While
this operation can increase accountability and prevent loss of control over food safety
hazards such as intentional adulteration, removing it does not necessarily create a
hazardous food manufacturing environment for producing foods. 

In keeping a cooked product at a controlled temperature and out of the danger zone,
food establishments can implement both a CCP and an OPRP. Cooked foods can be
stored again in the refrigerator for later use. An appropriate CCP for this operation is
to indicate the date and time of storage. Alternatively, food safety teams can opt to
throw any leftover cooked food instead of refrigerating them for later use. The latter
operation is considered an OPRP.
 
How is OPRP different from PRP?
A prerequisite program or PRP includes basic controls concerned with making a
conducive and hygienic environment to create safe food. Most operations involved
in this category are general and are not established to control a particular hazard.
Their main objective is to ensure the fundamental conditions relating to proper
hygiene conditions, suitability of equipment, cleaning, sanitation, and the production
environment to reduce the risk of food safety hazards.

The main difference between the two categories is that an OPRP is established to
target a specific food safety hazard, whereas a PRP is a general
operation. Examples of PRPs include sets of general food safety practices in the food
industry such as Good Manufacturing Practices and the Sanitation Standard Operating
Procedures. Prerequisite programs also include aspects such as the design and layout
of the food establishment and employee facilities, food waste management, pest
control, and food hygiene. 

The given PRP examples are generally performed to reduce the risk of harboring food
safety hazards. The operations can accommodate a wide range of food safety hazards
such as the presence of a foreign body classified as a physical hazard and harmful
bacterial strains which are biological.

Why is OPRP important in food safety?

Similar to any other preventive controls, an OPRP keeps the production of foods
safe. Every OPRP is designed specifically to maintain safety against a particular
hazard. Although an OPRP can be removed from the food production system, its
presence helps food businesses ensure that the CCPs are effective and that you
are producing safe end products.

The inaccurate identification of an OPRP or a CCP and the wrong implementation of

control measures may prove to be dangerous for a food establishment. OPRPs
commonly do not have any critical limits when compared to CCPs. If a critical
operation is identified as an OPRP instead of a CCP, problems such as constant
breaches of standards may significantly increase the imminent food safety risk of
foodborne illnesses.

Although critical limits for an OPRP are not common and often inapplicable,
monitoring its effectiveness can help optimize food safety management through the
assessment of control measures. The complete and accurate application of CCP, PRP,
and OPRP make up a comprehensive and working HACCP food safety plan.

At FoodDocs, we have devised a free HACCP tool that lets you accurately identify
the correct level of operation or define critical control points. Using our CCP
identification tool, you can select a pre-listed food safety hazard from the dropdown
menu, choose the likelihood of its occurrence, and then the potential effect it may
have on your food business. This free tool is based on a risk assessment tool that helps
you identify whether a hazard would require a PRP, OPRP, or a CCP for its control.

 
Examples of OPRP
An operation can be regarded as an OPRP if it satisfies a few basic criteria. Some
criteria may include the operation's ability to minimize a food safety hazard, a non-
critical nature to the whole food production, and can be monitored through
observations. As mentioned, although an OPRP is essential to minimizing the
likelihood of causing foodborne illnesses, its exclusion from the operation will not
immediately mean that the products are unsafe. As such, they can be seen as an
additional control measure for food safety.

 
 

Some examples of OPRP include the following:

 The use of a glass/ metal detector during raw materials inspection for a physical
hazard.
 Video surveillance of the whole production process.
 Sanitation to prevent cross-contamination.
 Use of protein test kits to detect food allergens in a food facility.
 Timed reports on temperature-controlled storage.
 Programmed sensors for monitoring temperature based on predefined external
requirements.
 Pre-installed thermometer probes on the oven to measure the internal
temperature of foods.

 
OPRP and automatic solutions
In recent times, the use of advanced technology has become an integral component of
any intended control of food safety. Technology has offered stronger security and
more accurate results when it comes to ensuring the safety of the foods being
produced. Devices and software such as the following are currently being widely
implemented across the food industry:

 Smart sensors with built-in food safety programs

 Radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags
  AI-powered inspection systems
 Video surveillance

These technological additions to food processing can help increase efficiency in

ensuring food safety. They intuitively help control any process step and spot potential
food safety hazards. For example, smart sensors installed in a kitchen appliance such
as a refrigerator for cold storage help deliver information to a central server without
the need for food employees to manually check the temperatures. These installments
can be essential in keeping food safe as well as efficient. In their absence, food
handlers can still check the temperatures manually.

 
 
Digital solution to a comprehensive HACCP plan
Properly contrasting between the terms CCP, PRP, and OPRP can sometimes pose an
indefinite pause in your HACCP plan-making process. Your team may need to spend
a lot of time using a common decision tree that includes the distinction between
OPRPs and CCPs before the implementation of any effective control process. After
which, a subsequent step such as assessment of control measures multiple times and
validating whether your decision is correct or not. The process of CCP and OPRP
identification is one of the most time-consuming sections of making your HACCP
plan.
Luckily, FoodDocs is here to help you. With our built-in HACCP plan builder
software, you can get properly identified CCPs and all other important HACCP
parts in just 1 hour. Powered by artificial intelligence, our system can automatically
generate a HACCP plan that is specifically fit for your food business by using
information from food safety regulations, established information, and our
information bank. 

Using our system, the process of identifying hazards, analyzing them, and
assigning CCPs and critical limit designation can be done 500x faster than hiring
a consultant to do the job, also much cheaper. Our built-in HACCP plan builder
can automatically list all of the detailed CCPs related to your food business. In
addition, if your team is using different sensors from major brands for your
monitoring procedures, you can easily integrate them into our system. You can then
customize CCPs and designate them as an OPRP instead while identifying their
function and the rationale behind this change.

With our software, you can achieve food safety compliance and satisfy customer
requirements without worrying whether it would be able to accommodate your unique
operations or not. Our system was built by food safety and technology experts while
considering the most updated systems used in the food service industry.

Sign up now and enjoy our free, 14-day trial that you can use to build your HACCP
plan in 1 hour. Purchase our plans and get full access to our system's features such as
downloading your generated HACCP plan for your whole team.