Utfallet av riskvärderingsmatriser i va-verkens arbete med HaCCP / The outcome from risk value matrices in the HaCCP-work of water plants

Since January 1, 2006, new legislation from the European Union (among others; regulations EC 852/2004 and EC 882/2004) forces all food producers of the EU to include a hazard analysis based on the HACCP-principles in their internal control. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is an international standard operated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and is used for systematic food safety work. Its use in drinking water safety will increase as water supply bodies adapt to the new legislation. In HACCP-work the meanings of terms such as hazard analysis, risk analysis and risk management are crucial. Some of the more commonly used methods for risk analysis are presented in the article. Also evaluated are mathematical inquiries on how different values on parameters such as consequence, frequency and possibility for detection and remedy affect the ranking of hazards and/or critical control points. The results from six different suggestions on different scales of values for the aforementioned parameters were compared with those from literature values. The results are discussed, and it is concluded that different scales and values result in different rankings. For effective use of the ranking step in the HACCP-process, the aim of the ranking has to be established so the parameters can be valued in a suitable way. The seemingly objective rank should be critically scrutinized and should not be applied mechanically in HACCP-work.