APPLICATION OF HAZARD ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINT SYSTEM : ANALYSIS OF A FOOD POISONING OUTBREAK

The World Health Organization as well as several experts have recently recommended the use of hazard analysis critical control point system for prevention of food-borne illnesses. The present study proceeded to identify the hazardous operations and their critical control points by investigating, through a case-control design, an outbreak of food poisoning. The predominant presenting symptoms were watery diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. The cumulative incidence during this episode was 28.6 per cent, with a median incubation of 13 hours. Evaluation of food histories indicated a very high and significant odds ratio for mutton dish (OR = 6.45; p < 0.001), which persisted even after adjusting for the consumption of other food items through stratified analysis using the Mantel-Haenszel procedure. Environmental assessment revealed a strong possibility of contamination of raw mutton at the source with animal excreta and prolonged storage at room temperature of cooked mutton dish. Based on these findings, hazardous operations were identified and critical control points and monitoring criteria for prevention of food poisoning have been suggested.