What must establishments determine when assessing potential hazards for each step in the flowchart?

• A. Whether each hazard is RLTO or NRLTO
• B. Whether each step has at least one hazard identified in each category
• C. Whether the establishment identifies every hazard mentioned in the FSIS Hazards and Controls Guide
• D. Whether all identified biological hazards are considered reasonably likely to occur

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that, for each step in the flow, you look at potential hazards and judge whether each identified biological hazard could reasonably occur during that step. This “reasonably likely to occur” assessment determines whether a preventive control is needed for that hazard. In practice, you evaluate each hazard individually against the actual operating conditions; if a hazard could reasonably occur, it should be controlled, and if not, it may not require a preventive measure in that step. The other options don’t fit because they misstate the purpose: there isn’t a required RLTO/NRLTO classification for each step, you don’t need at least one hazard in every category, you don’t have to identify every hazard from the FSIS Hazards and Controls Guide, and you focus on whether each identified biological hazard could reasonably occur, not on tallying hazards as all being likely.