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What is HACCP & Why is it Important?

HACCP is an acronym used in the hospitality industry to manage food hygiene and safety standards across all departments. When working with food, you will encounter several hazards that you need to know how to deal with at every level of experience or responsibility. 

So, what is HACCP, and why is it important? HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is used to outline key areas in kitchen preparation, handling, or transportation where risk can be controlled and managed. These guidelines are relevant to all food-based industries, such as food delivery, handling, packing, and storage. 

Read on to learn more about the essentials of HACCP and why following its procedures is important for running a safe industrial kitchen, food handling service, or food manufacturing site. 

What is HACCP?

If you own, run, or work in a kitchen or food preparation area, you will be subject to visits from the Food Standards Agency, where you must demonstrate compliance with HACCP. You will then be issued a rating per your compliance with these standards. 

HACCP consists of 7 Core Principles that must be followed at every level of food handling to meet food safety standards.

 These principles are:

  1. Identify Hazards - what areas currently present a risk to food safety at every step of your work process?
  2. Hazard Analysis: Identify critical control points where your business could eliminate or improve its approach to food safety hazards. 
  3. Specify Control Measures - what measures can you make to reduce hazards to an acceptable level?
  4. Determine Critical Control Points—Identify critical hazards, as opposed to those where control is essential but not deemed necessary. 
  5. Monitoring - are your methods being followed and practised effectively?
  6. Establish a Corrective Plan - Based on your monitoring of the CCP. If something goes wrong, how can you rectify the issue?
  7. Record Keeping—Are you keeping records of both good and bad practices in HACCP for your and HSE purposes?

What Hazards Apply to HACCP?

Food production, preparation, storage, and handling hazards are typically considered harmful to a food product, making it unsafe to eat. These hazards can be categorised into three easy-to-remember categories, covering every aspect of food contamination. They include:

Microbiological

Microbiological contamination poses a hazard as bacterial growth on food leaves behind pathogens which are harmful when consumed. Considerations regarding microbial contamination of food typically focus on incorrect storage and food temperature after it has cooled. 

The UK government provides a pack for small businesses, known as ‘Safer food, better business’, which outlines the key steps for correct storage and temperature management. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issues this pack, which should be obtained up to 28 days before your business begins trading.

Correct management of bacterial contamination is both the responsibility of the management and the person handling the food. These risks can be limited by;

  • Constantly washing your hands effectively;
  • Always wearing clean clothes;
  • Removing jewellery and watches when working;
  • Avoiding coughing or sneezing in areas where food is present;
  • Practising safe temperature and storage methods;
  • Correctly storing waste products away from food poses a clear microbial contamination risk. Your indoor bins should be kept from food, and your large outdoor bins should be stored separately from walk-ins and dry storage areas. 

Limiting these factors and holding yourself and your staff accountable is key to reducing microbiological hazards when working with food. When a health and safety executive assesses you, they will evaluate these key areas and your diligence in them on a regular basis. Therefore, it remains best practice to always uphold these standards to keep everyone involved safe from contamination. 

Chemical

Chemical contamination can take various forms, notably allergy contamination, waste contamination, or improper chemical usage around food preparation areas. You should, in all areas of food handling, consider the following practices to reduce chemical contamination and effectively meet the required levels of due diligence:

  • Use cleaning chemicals to the manufacturer's specified levels. These instructions are typically provided on the container, and many modern companies have an easy-to-follow one—or two-pump method. Incorrect dilution of chemicals can be toxic, so maintain consistency in your mixing levels to ensure chemicals are used effectively.
  • Using surface cleaners appropriately, such as D10 for surfaces during service and degreaser for end-of-shift cleaning tasks. 
  • Correct methods must be used to ensure allergen particulates are managed to a safe level. This may include designated and sealed chopping boards, utensils, shelving, and even clothes for the key 14 allergens. The frequency and demand for diligence regarding these allergens vary between sites and industries. You should have a system in place that is tailored to your business's specific needs on a case-by-case basis.
  • Correct chemical storage is key in food hazard management. Always store chemicals away from food, ideally in a separate, well-ventilated room, and in a sealed container.
  • Any waste poses a chemical risk. Correct waste storage away from all food should be practised, as this could lead to chemical contamination and physical and microbial risks. 

Physical

Physical contamination poses a risk from large particulate matter entering food. This can range from almost anything, including:

  • hair from improper use of hairnets;
  • plasters, gloves or rings falling off a hand and making their way into food during preparation or handling; 
  • items falling into food from above, such as kitchen equipment, labels or stationery that are improperly stored;
  • ash from cigarettes or chewing gum.

This is not an exhaustive list of contaminants that you should assess in accordance with HACCP standards. You should always be aware of what is stored above a food item and how it imposes a physical risk on anything underneath it. 

Why is HACCP Important?

Following proper HACCP guidelines helps establish a strong foundation for any business, regardless of its level in the food industry. There are several reasons why you would want to follow these guidelines, including building a good reputation among businesses and customers and improving your health and safety rating. 

Compliance with HACCP is essential for anyone seeking to work with food safely and successfully. Great businesses can be trusted to carry out their duties safely and effectively, with people’s well-being at the forefront of their operations. Put in simpler terms, failure to follow these guidelines and practices could cost your job, your business, or even cause someone to lose their life. 

Do The HACCP Rules Apply to Me?

Some practices will differ between industries. For example, some rules in food distribution won’t be relevant for food production and preparation. However, following current UK Laws and Regulations, we will cover the core elements that apply to all industries and are considered standard across each sector. 

If you are interested in risk assessments for a particular business, then see our dedicated assessments for;

Each industry has its own set of hazards, depending on the type of food used. Any risk assessment completed with HSEDocs will be considered part of your due diligence and, therefore, rated as a business, as seen by the FSA. 

HSEDocs offers an Online Level 2 Food Hygiene Course, which can be completed in under two hours and is recognised by the relevant government bodies. It counts towards your Food Hygiene rating. 

When a food safety inspector visits you, you will be reviewed not only on your current compliance with these core principles but also on your historical records related to compliance. Good record-keeping is essential to any well-run outlet in the food industry and can lead to significant deductions being issued. The reverse is also true. If you are inspected on a typical day when you aren’t entirely up to code, historic compliance records can be viewed as diligent, in line with correct practices. 

HACCP Compliance Training at HSEDocs

HACCP compliance is crucial for running your business safely and ensuring compliance with governmental guidelines. If you want to attain a high Food Safety Standard rating, you must follow the seven core principles and understand the three key hazards. 

HSEDocs offers a range of online courses designed to train individuals at all levels, helping them understand and comply with food hygiene standards to a nationally recognised standard. 

Online Level 2 Food Hygiene Training Course

Further reading on the course and its significance to the food industry is available on our dedicated blog, Food Health & Safety Courses.