All FSIS inspected meat and poultry plants operate under what type of plan?

• A. GMP
• B. SOP
• C. HACCP
• D. Quality Assurance Plan

Answer: (C)

The main concept being tested is that FSIS-inspected meat and poultry plants must operate under a HACCP plan to manage safety by preventing hazards. HACCP, which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, focuses on identifying biological, chemical, and physical hazards that could enter the product and placing preventive controls at points in the process where those hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to safe levels. The plan specifies the critical control points, the limits that must be met at those points, how monitoring will be done, what corrective actions are needed if something goes off track, how the plan is verified, and the records that prove it’s being followed.

This preventive, system-wide approach is what FSIS requires for meat and poultry processing. GMPs provide foundational sanitary and operational practices, but they’re not the complete safety framework. SOPs are specific task instructions, which may be part of a HACCP program but do not by themselves constitute the overarching safety plan. A Quality Assurance Plan is a broader concept about overall quality and may include HACCP elements, but it isn’t the FSIS-required risk-management framework specific to preventing hazards in meat and poultry production.