In HACCP, hazard analysis involves...

• A. Implementing employee training
• B. Auditing supplier invoices
• C. Conducting cost-benefit analysis
• D. Identifying potential hazards and assessing risk

Answer: (D)

Hazard analysis in HACCP is the systematic process of identifying potential hazards in the product and the production steps and evaluating the risks they pose. This means pinpointing biological, chemical, and physical hazards that could be introduced at any stage—from receiving ingredients through processing to packaging—and judging how likely they are to occur and how severe their consequences would be. The goal is to use that risk assessment to decide where controls are needed and what preventive measures to implement, which guides where critical control points and monitoring should be placed.

Training employees, auditing supplier invoices, and conducting cost-benefit analyses aren’t part of hazard analysis itself. Training is about ensuring workers follow procedures, supplier invoices relate to procurement verification, and cost-benefit analysis is a financial assessment—none of these define identifying hazards and assessing risk in the HACCP framework.