Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is the ultimate Health Hygiene standard for catering professionals, comparable to the legendary World Health Organization and the UN Codex Alimentarius. Unfortunately, this sometimes-complex approach is often misunderstood, leaving restorers confused. But don’t panic, Combo is here to help you! We have prepared a concise guide to food safety for you. We have put together a concise guide to the key steps in a HACCP hygiene plan.
Definition of HACCP
The system is a food safety management method designed to identify potential Health Hygiene hazards to human health in food production and establish controls to prevent them from occurring. In other words, the HACCP system identifies and controls three key food safety hazards: biological, chemical and physical.
Outline of a HACCP plan
A HACCP plan is a document that details the measures to be taken to ensure food safety. It may include steps such as hazard analysis, identification of critical control points, implementation of monitoring and remediation procedures, and continuous performance evaluation.
The Golden Rules for Developing a HACCP Plan
There are two key points to establishing an effective HACCP plan.
- These are procedures established within the company to control potential hazards related to the environment and to prevent any contamination related to the product. These procedures apply in particular to hygiene, manufacturing and working methods.
- These are complementary to the prerequisite plans. They are not intended for treatment but for prevention. In other words? They make it possible to list the potential contamination hazards for each product. This makes it possible to identify control points in order to guarantee the quality and safety of food.
HACCP plans for the catering industry
The catering industry is a sector particularly affected by HACCP plans. In fact, the activity itself is based on food and service. As such, it involves the implementation of measures to ensure that the products offered and served are always of good quality and can be traced in the event of a problem. The HACCP scheme involves any company in the catering industry (commercial or collective) and also in food processing.
Good to Know:
In the catering industry, training of all new employees in the measures related to the HACCP plan is mandatory. This is a way of ensuring hygienic measures in all cases. In the event of non-compliance with this obligation, the restaurant owner also faces the arrival of the veterinary service (Health Hygiene Agency) and possible penalties.