MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — More than 40 participants traveled to the International Grains Program (IGP) April 1-4, to attend a course focused on establishing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program for the feed industry. 

The Kansas State University’s IGP teamed up with the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) to hold this successful course.

Throughout the course participants looked at the feed-industry regulations, learned the seven HACCP principles, and how to develop and implement an effective HACCP program.

“The course provided the basic tools for feed millers and how to implement all the principles of HACCP step-by-step,” said Carlos Campabadal, IGP feed manufacturing program specialist and the course manager. “Participants left with the right knowledge to develop a HACCP plan at their facility.”

A company in the process of revamping their safety plans, Pilgrim’s Pride, sent a nutritionist to attend the course to learn what she could about creating an up-to-date program.

“This course has been a good refresher course, with the legislation evolving we have to know what is going on and how to deal with it down the road as well,” Mira Dimova, said. “We are going to utilize the resources that have been given to us during this course so that we can adapt the manuals we are developing for Pilgrim’s.”

Another Pilgrim’s employee who is a feed mill manager, Brad Tipton, says he now understands HACCP and has a better idea how to add a consistent program across their 25 integrated feed mills.

“I learned how HACCP works and when I get back it will help me to implement a program at my facility and be able to train my employees and other feed mill managers,” Tipton said.