How do flies figure into the HACCP equation?
First and foremost, it is the ability of certain species to circumvent CCPs that is of primary concern. The biological characteristics of the “average” fly do not pose a significant hazard to consumers. So the real HACCP issue is: Monitoring and controlling the few species that are known to vector E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella, when allowed access to food after decontamination steps. HACCP is a *practical* system. Finite resources are targeted to only those points required to produce food that is “safe” as defined by accepted scientific standards. Contamination risks that do not exceed those standards may be quality control issues – but not HACCP issues. The specific species are of utmost importance when deciding what is worthy of including in a HACCP flow chart or its companion SSOP. For instance, the risk posed by the species that produce intestinal myasis (about 40 cases reported annually worldwide) is probably not worth the paperwork to write it up.
