HACCP in 7 Principles: A Practical Guide for Small & Medium Food Producers

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is the globally recognized system for preventing food safety hazards before they occur. It's mandatory for export and required by most regulators.

Principle 1: Conduct hazard analysis — identify every biological (bacteria, viruses), chemical (toxins, pesticides), or physical (glass, metal) hazard that may occur at each production step.

Principle 2: Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs) — the step where a hazard can be controlled or eliminated. Example: cooking at 75°C for 2 minutes to eliminate Salmonella in chicken.

Principle 3: Establish critical limits — the maximum/minimum acceptable value. Example: refrigeration ≤ 4°C, pH ≤ 4.6 for low-acid canned foods.

Principle 4: Monitoring procedures — who, when, and how to measure? Example: production supervisor logs oven temperature every 30 min on form CCP-01.

Principle 5: Corrective actions — what to do when a critical limit is breached? Example: re-cook the product, or dispose of it, and document the cause.

Principle 6: Verification — periodic review by an independent party. Lab tests, record review, equipment calibration.

Principle 7: Documentation — full records of all the above, kept for at least 2 years, auditable at any time.

Practical tip: start small — focus on 3-5 real CCPs instead of 20 imaginary ones. Digital tools like NutriCard make documentation easier and automatically link CCPs to corrective actions.