How did HACCP come into existence?

HACCP was developed in the ’60s in the USA at the request of NASA, the American space organisation. For space travel there was a need for food with a long shelf life that was absolutely safe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considered that the implementation of such a standard was of benefit to all mankind, and issued a directive called Codex Alimentarius. This guaranteed the international introduction of HACCP. In 1993, the EU established the European Hygiene Guideline (93/43/EEG). A consequence of this was that the HACCP was included in the national legislation of all the member states of the EU within 10 years. Where this has not been done, the European Hygiene Guideline from 2003 applies directly.