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HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points and is a food safety system for organizations that prepare, process, or produce food. Do you want to draw up an HACCP plan that works in practice and stands up to audits? Then you can work with 12 steps that encompass the seven HACCP principles. In this blog, you will find a practical step-by-step plan for drawing up an HACCP plan.
Step 1: Assemble a HACCP team
To properly apply HACCP guidelines, put together an HACCP team within your organization. This team should preferably consist of multiple disciplines, such as production, quality, technology, purchasing, and engineering. This will ensure that the plan is in line with practice and with technical and organizational preconditions.
Step 2: Describe the product
Describe the product or product category as completely as possible. Consider ingredients, packaging, factors that are crucial for safety and shelf life, and relevant chemical, physical, and microbiological properties. This description forms the basis for the hazard analysis in the following steps.
Step 3: Determine the intended use
Determine the intended use of the product. How is it intended to be used by the customer or consumer? Record this, including basic principles for storage conditions and shelf life. This helps to better assess risks in the chain.
Step 4: Construct a flow chart
Create a flow chart of the process. Describe every operational step and all inputs, from receipt of raw materials to packaging, storage, and any transport. A complete flow chart prevents important risks from being overlooked later on.
Step 5: Verify the flow chart on site
Verify the flow chart on the work floor before continuing. Check whether all steps, actions, and inputs are correct. This ensures that the process has been recorded correctly and that the analysis is based on an accurate description.
Step 6: Conduct a Hazard Analysis
Perform a hazard analysis. This is the first HACCP principle. For each process step, assess which hazards could occur in terms of food safety, such as chemical, physical, and microbiological hazards. Also record which existing control measures and checks are in place to prevent or limit these hazards.
Step 7: Identify Critical Control Points (CCPs)
Identify the critical control points (CCPs). This is the second HACCP principle. Using a decision tree, you determine at which process steps control is necessary to manage significant hazards. CCPs are the points where you really need to take action to demonstrably guarantee food safety.
Step 8: Establish Critical Limits (CLs)
Establish critical limits for each CCP. This is the third HACCP principle. These limits, also known as Critical Limits (CLs), are based on scientific data and/or legal requirements. The limits clarify when a process is still under control. If a limit is not met, this is a signal that food safety may be at risk and that action is needed.
Step 9: Monitoring of Critical Control Points (CCPs)
Set up monitoring for the CCPs. This is the fourth HACCP principle. Record how you monitor the limit values so that you can see in good time when a process deviates. Describe specifically when checks are carried out, how the checks are carried out, and who is responsible for their implementation and recording.
Step 10: Establish Corrective Actions
Establish corrective actions. This is the fifth HACCP principle. These actions describe what you do when a critical limit value is not met. These are actions that limit or control the consequences for food safety. Record what happens to the product, what process adjustments are needed, and who is responsible for this.
Step 11: Verification
Perform verification. This is the sixth HACCP principle. By periodically performing activities, tests, and checks, you determine whether the HACCP plan is and remains effective. Verification can consist of internal audits, (laboratory) analyses, and performance assessments of installations and equipment. This prevents the plan from only being effective on paper.
Step 12: Keeping records
Keep documentation and records. This is the seventh HACCP principle. Record all relevant activities related to the management and application of the HACCP plan so that you have a complete history of important checks, measurements, and actions. These records may be requested by regulators and certified auditors and form the basis for demonstrable compliance.
Are you sure you meet all HACCP requirements?
Download our HACCP Checklist and check whether your HACCP plan is complete and whether your control measures are demonstrably in place.
