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Product Hygiene Index
The Product Hygiene Index (PHI) is a measure of hygienic meat production at individual export establishments. The PHI and individual key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to:
— assess compliance with Australian regulations
— assess compliance with importing country requirements
— assess operational management
— assess management capability in respect to their ability to manage new technology or processes; and
— identify and manage non-compliance.
The Product Hygiene Index is a uniformly applied method to verify an establishment’s ability to comply consistently including its ability to detect and resolve its own deficiencies.
Objectives of the System
The objective of the PHI is to provide an objective measure of hygienic meat production.
The Key Performance Indicators
KPIs have been slecetde or developed based on their ability to address hazards identified through an industry wide whole of chain risk assessment of the Australian red meat production system against the requirements of the Australian Standard AS4696. That assessment has identified residues in incoming livestock and contamination by faeces and ingesta (providing a vehicle for transfer of pathogens to the product) either directly or indirectly as being the main wholesomeness issues confronting the red meat sector in Australia. The issue of residues is adequately addressed through the National Vendor Declaration system and verified by the National Residue Survey and other targeted programs. Therefore the focus is on preventing contamination and cross contamination by enteric pathogens and on the application of good refrigeration to ensure that there is minimal growth of any contaminating micro-organism in the event of undetected contamination. Refrigeration is adequately controlled through the application of the Refrigeration Index.
Some of the KPIs are an objective measure of the wholesomeness of the meat through the process chain. Others verify the microbiological quality of product produced during that process. The Product Hygiene Index is derived from the values for the individual KPIs.
Below are the current KPI submission sheets for use by industry and AQIS on-plant field supervisors. Excel 2003 spreadsheets are provided as AQIS is unable to post Excel 2007 macro-enabled spreadsheets on this web.
Excel [268 KB]20 Feb 2012