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| In May 2002, the Distintivo "H" became Mexico's official voluntary standard for all food handling industries. This new certificate demands |
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| the highest standards of hygiene in all sectors of the food and beverage industry including hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. |
| Distintivo "H" guarantees a hygienic environment for all patrons as it controls the full cycle in all food and beverage processes i.e. from supplier to consumption. This recognition is awarded by the Secretaries of Tourism and Health and the Distintivo "H" certifying agency which examines over 100 aspects of food preparation and handling before granting the certificate. |
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| Distintivo H involves seven principles: |
| · Analyze hazards. Potential hazards associated with a food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could be biological, such as a microbe; chemical, such as a toxin; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments. |
| · Identify critical control points. These are points in a food's production--from its raw state through processing and shipping to consumption by the consumer--at which the potential hazard can be |
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| controlled or eliminated. Examples are cooking, cooling, packaging, and metal detection. |
| · Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point. For a cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes. |
| · Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points. Such procedures might include determining how and by whom |
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| cooking time and temperature should be monitored. |
| · Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met--for example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met. |
| · Establish procedures to verify that the system is working |
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