Effects of hazard analysis and critical control points principles on food safety at national youth service in Nakuru County, Kenya

This study examined the effect of hazard analysis and critical control points principles on food safety at the National Youth Service in Nakuru County; Kenya. Application of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, HACCP) principle in food production and service areas is a requirement especially in all food handling stages, Successful implementation of the procedures based on the HACCP principles requires the full cooperation and commitment of food handlers’ requiring employees to undergo training. Food safety plays a significant role in the economic and health development of Nations by safeguarding the nation‘s health, enhancing tourism, hospitality, and international trade, the production, distribution, and consumption of safe food. The scope of the study was limited to NYS Catering unit kitchens in Gilgil College. The findings explain the hygiene and safety practices of other Academic kitchens in Kenya. The study adopted a mixed research methodology, this study adopted a census method; the reason being the total population was 121. The response from the quantitative data from the questionnaires was tabulated, coded, and processed by use of the statistical package for social sciences Data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the findings, the R and R2 value representing the simple correlation summary showed that 16.6 percent of HACCP principles can be explained by variance in food safety. ANOVA results showed that the model applied was statistically significant to predict the outcome variable. The study also concludes that food-hygiene operating procedure that is documented and awareness too that food safety inspections by health inspectors help to ensure safe food handling practices are followed. Key Words: HACCP Principles, Critical Limits, Corrective Actions, Verification, Documentation and Records.