A year after Lynn Knipe joined Ohio State University's faculty in 1997, the federal government introduced a new philosophy in food safety. The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system went into effect for the meat industry's largest plants in 1998, and Knipe soon began offering training to help the state's meat processors implement the program.

This week, he'll train the 1,000th participant in his Introductory HACCP Training for Meat and Poultry Processors course.

"The average consumer seems to have little idea what the meat and poultry industry is doing in regard to food safety," says Knipe, processed meats specialist for OSU Extension. But, he saiys it does a lot -- the whole HACCP concept demands it. The HACCP system would actually be good for any food processing, handling or preparation operation whether they process meat or not and whether it is mandated or not, Knipe says.

Knipe, a native of Lancaster, Ohio, grew up on a small livestock farm. When his parents bought a meat plant near New Lexington, he became interested in meat science. After getting a bachelor's degree at Ohio State and a Ph.D. at Iowa State University, he worked at the Hillshire Farm Company and the Meat Export Research Center at Iowa State before joining the Ohio State faculty.


Knipe offers the HACCP introductory class two to four times a year, depending on demand.

During the two-day course, he reviews the philosophy behind HACCP and takes participants step-by-step through the process of developing a plan they can take back to their operation and put to use immediately.

HACCP requires meat and poultry processors to examine their operations, identify the "Critical Control Points" where risks to the food might occur, and put safety precautions in place to prevent potential hazards. When HACCP was implemented, it represented a major shift in food safety procedures at the nation's meat processing plants, Knipe says.

Steve Close, assistant chief of the state's meat inspection program at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, agrees.

"It made the plants accountable for what they do," Close says. "Before, we (inspectors) would go in and tell them what to do, or what not to do. Now, they develop their own safety programs -- they analyze every step of their process and determine whether there's the possibility of a hazard developing, and they have to prove to us that they're doing everything in their power to make sure consumers aren't at risk."

In June, Knipe was recognized by the American Meat Science Association, which honored him with the Distinguished Industry-Extension Service Award.