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HACCP Principles
Developing a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan is a key part of the development of any
food safety management program, developed by HACCP teams and unique to each production facility, and is
essential to the production of safe food throughout the global food supply chain. Using HACCP will help
minimize and further eliminate major food incidents caused by mishandling food or creating an ineffective
product and/or process design. See Table 1 for examples of major food incidents from 1989 to 2009 across
the globe.

Country (Year) Food Contamination Known/suspected cause Effect and Cost

Formulation changed to reduce 27 ill, 1 death
United Kingdom Hazelnut Botulinum sugar version. Thermal process is Millions of dollars
(1989) yogurt toxin insufficient for new formula across the entire
“hazelnut puree”. ‘Design’ UK yogurt market
Worldwide recall;
Worldwide Bottled Filter not checked in 18 months. 160 million bottles
Benzene destroyed
(1990) water ‘Preventive Maintenance’
$79 million
Ice cream mix ingredients were
United States of Salmonella transported in a truck previously Over 200,000 ill
Ice cream
America (1998) Enteriditis used to transport raw liquid eggs. Unreported cost
‘Cross Contamination’
Cooked Inadequate sanitation of slicing 20 deaths
Listeria
Canada (2008) sliced deli machines. Insufficient verification
monocytogenes Over $20 million
meats testing. ‘Sanitary Design’
Company inadvertently packed a National recall
Frozen Undeclared fish
Australia (2008) tuna meal in a package that did
meat allergen Unknown cost
not declare allergen. ‘Mislabeling’
Estimated 54,000
children ill; 13,000
Dried milk hospitalized and 4
China (2008) Melamine Economic adulteration.
powder died
$ Millions
Leaking roof 700 ill
9 deaths
Unsanitary process conditions
United States of Peanut Salmonella
$100 million
America (2009) butter typhimurium Inadequate segregation between
raw/roasted peanuts. Company filed for
‘Cross Contamination’ bankruptcy
Table 1. Examples of Major Food Incidents
Source: Food safety management: A practical guide for the food industry, 2014

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and is a form of “food risk assessment” used as a
food safety control. As defined by Codex, HACCP is a system that identifies, evaluates, and controls hazards,
which are significant for food safety.

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HACCP originated in the United States of America (USA) in the 1960s when the US National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) asked Pillsbury to design and manufacture the first food for space flights. It is
now internationally recognized as a food safety management system and is a requirement of the European
Union Food Hygiene Legislation (EUFHL). See Table 2 for the summary of the seven (7) principles of HACCP.
HACCP Principle Clarification
This requires the team to look at each
process one (1) step at a time, consider what
Principle 1 Conducting a hazard analysis. hazards might occur, evaluate its
significance, and establish the best way to
control it.
At this stage, the points that are critical to
Determining the critical control points product safety are identified. This can be
Principle 2
(CCPs). done through judgment and experience or
using a structured tool.
Critical limits are the safety limits that form
the boundary between safe and potentially
Principle 3 Establishing critical limit(s).
unsafe food. These need to be established to
manage all CCPs.
The monitoring system needs to
Establishing a system to monitor control demonstrate that the CCP is under control
Principle 4
of the CCP. on a day-to-day basis and must be capable of
detecting loss of control.

Establishing the corrective action to be If the CCP is not working, action needs to be
Principle 5 taken when monitoring indicates a taken to protect the consumer and to put
particular CCP is not under control. right the cause of the deviation.

This requires checking that the system is

Establishing procedures for verification
capable of controlling relevant hazards, is
Principle 6 to confirm that the HACCP system is
working in practice, and is up-to-date on an
working effectively.
ongoing basis.

Documentation will include the process flow

Establish documentation concerning all
diagrams and tables created during the
Principle 7 procedures and records appropriate to
HACCP plans and development records, as
these principles and their application.
well as monitoring records.
Table 2. Summary of HACCP Principles
Source: Food safety management: A practical guide for the food industry, 2014

Benefits of the HACCP System (Motarjemi & Lelieveld, 2014):

 It is a proactive approach to food safety management and public health protection.
 It is flexible as necessary control measures can be adapted to changes in operations (brand protection).
 It helps to target resources to the most critical part of the food operations (cost benefits).
 It applies to the entire food chain, from the raw materials to the end product.
 It overcomes many of the limitations of the traditional approaches to food safety control.

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Barriers to Effective HACCP Use

• Lack of knowledge • Insufficient expertise
• Lack of human resources • Misleading HACCP publications
• Local language materials not being readily • Lack of equipment and poor infrastructure
available • Validation and verification difficulties
• Insufficient competent third-party
consultants
Applying Codex in Developing HACCP
The process of HACCP plan development and implementation, through the application of the Codex HACCP
principles, involves several interlinked stages. Application of the HACCP principles is done using a logical, step-
by-step approach such that each step builds on the work done in applying the previous step.
Codex Logic Sequence
Before applying the HACCP Principles, some preparatory steps must be accomplished. These steps are
described in the Codex logic sequence for the application of HACCP and are enumerated as follows:
1. Assemble the HACCP team. The correct people should be identified and trained. A HACCP team is a
specific group of individuals who work together to apply the HACCP principles. Essential expertise needed
within the HACCP team includes:
• Personnel who understand the process operations, ingredients, and products on site.
• Personnel who have knowledge and experience of the equipment, how it works to achieve process
conditions, and the likely failure models.
• Personnel who understand the likely hazards and appropriate control mechanisms, including how
to validate process controls, including the necessary validation requirements.
2. Describe the product. This step considers both the product and the process. Topics normally included in
the team’s discussions are:
• Main ingredient groups to be used or “work in progress” inputs to process modules;
• Main processes and how materials are prepared/handled;
• Production environment and equipment layout;
• Hazard types to be considered;
• Key control measures available through processes and prerequisites; and
• Packaging/wrapping, if appropriate to the scope of the study.
3. Identify intended use. These considerations are examined throughout the product supply chain, including
further manufacturers/processors, food service, retailers, and through to handling and use by the final
handler and consumer.
4. Construct a flow diagram. The purpose of the process flow diagram is to document the process and
provide a foundation for the hazard analysis. This outlines all the activities in the operation in a stepwise
manner that shows the interactions of the different activities, as shown in Figure 1 on the next page.

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5. Confirm on-site flow diagram. This

step compares the documented
diagram with the actual process
activities, noting any changes
necessary, and making sure that all
variations are covered. The
following are some common
problems encountered when using
flow diagrams:
• Insufficient detail is recorded for
the process to be understood;
• Grouping together of process
steps or ingredients results in
the omission of necessary
steps/ingredients;
• The diagram is too complex and
not easy to understand;
• Inclusion of too much non-
product/process information;
• Diagram does not include all
possible permutations of
product flow;
• The diagram is not
representative of what really
happens.
6. List all potential hazards, conduct a
hazard analysis, and consider control
measures. In this step, the HACCP
team needs to consider each Figure 1. Common Process Flow Diagram Errors: Milk Processing
Source: Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout the
process activity and list any
global supply chain, 2011
potential hazards that might occur.
The following terms are defined by
Codex as follows:
• Hazard: Any microbiological, chemical, or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to
cause an adverse health effect.
• Hazard analysis: The process of collecting and evaluating the information on hazards and conditions
leading to their presence to decide which are significant for food safety and should be addressed in
the HACCP plan.
• Control measure: An action or activity that can be used to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a hazard to
an acceptable level.
The cause or source of the hazard needs to be established along with how the hazard is manifested in
the process. Examples: Growth of microorganisms during production; contamination with the hazard
during processing and handling; items that are sharp and may cause injury; and items that could block
airways and cause choking.

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7. Determine CCPs. Critical control points (CCPs) are the points in the process where the significant hazards
must be controlled to prevent or eliminate such hazards at an acceptable level. CCPs can be identified
using the HACCP team knowledge or experience and by using tools such as the Codex CCP decision tree,
as shown in Figure 2.
8. Establish critical limits for each
CCP. Critical limits are the safety
limits that must be achieved for
each CCP to ensure that the food
is safe. If the process operates
beyond the critical limits, then
products made will be potentially
unsafe. Critical limit is a criterion
that separates acceptability from
unacceptability.
9. Establish a monitoring system for
each CCP. Monitoring is the act of
conducting a planned sequence of
observations or measurements of
control parameters to assess
whether a CPP is under control. It
is important to demonstrate that
the CCPs are being controlled
within the appropriate critical
limits and monitoring
Figure 2. CCP Decision Tree
requirements need to be Source: Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout
specified by the HACCP team the global supply chain, 2011
during the HACCP study.
Each monitoring activity must have a person allocated to carry it out, record the results, and take any
necessary actions. The frequency of monitoring should also be defined and this will relate to the
input/amount of product in the particular process. See Figure 3 to compare regular (manual) and
continuous (online) monitoring of CCPs.

Figure 3. Comparison of Regular and Continuous CCP Monitoring

Source: Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout the global supply chain, 2011

10. Establish corrective actions. Corrective action needs to be taken where monitoring shows that there is a
deviation from a defined critical limit. Corrective action is defined by Codex (2009b) as: any action to be
taken when the results of monitoring at the CCP indicate a loss of control.

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Such actions must deal both with the (1) product produced while the process is out of control and (2) with
the process fault that has caused the CPP deviation to bring the process back under control.
11. Establish verification procedures. Verification requires that procedures are developed to confirm that the
HACCP system can work and is working effectively. The following are the two (2) different types of
confirmation required:
• Validation – this is done once
the HACCP control charts have
been completed, before the
implementation of the HACCP
plan in the operation. It is also
done periodically after the
HACCP plan has been
implemented to check that the
plan is still appropriate for the
control of all relevant hazards,
including the changes that
have occurred in the
operations (processes,
products/ingredients).
• Verification – this considers
how to determine if the HACCP
system is working effectively
over time, once it has been
implemented. It involves
various procedures and
Figure 4. HACCP Application Process
methods that will be used to Source: Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout the
demonstrate compliance with global supply chain, 2011
food safety requirements.
12. Establish documentation and record-keeping. When the HACCP plan is implemented in the operation,
records will be kept on an ongoing basis. Essential records include the following:
• CCP monitoring records
• Records of corrective actions associated with critical limit deviation
• Records of verification activities
• Records of modifications to processes and the HACCP plan

Application of HACCP principles is achieved by following a straightforward stepwise procedure outline by the
Codex logic sequence. See Figure 4 for the diagram of the HACCP process applying the Codex logic sequence.
This will only result in an effective HACCP system if performed by HACCP teams made up of personnel with
the correct blend of training, skills, and experience. The outcome of this HACCP study process should be a
HACCP plan that clearly defines how all significant hazards relevant to the operation will be controlled.

References:
Motarjemi, Y. (Ed.), & Lelieveld, H. (Ed.). (2014). Food safety management: A practical guide for the food industry. Elsevier Inc.
Wallace, C. A. (2011). Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout the global supply chain. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.

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