Free HACCP Template for Your Business

A Guide to Creating a Food Safety Management System

This article delves into the STC’s HACCP template, a valuable tool for businesses within the food industry to create and implement a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. By following the template’s guidance and incorporating best practices, food businesses can ensure they are producing safe and legal products that comply with industry regulations.

Understanding the Foundation: Codex Alimentarius

The template is built upon the Codex Alimentarius, a globally recognized food safety code established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). A copy can be found here: https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/codes-of-practice/de/. This code outlines essential principles for food hygiene, ensuring food safety across borders. The latest version, Codex 1-1969 (amended in 2022), serves as the foundation for the HACCP template, providing a framework for businesses to tailor their HACCP system to their specific needs.

Key Components of the HACCP Template

• STEPS 1, 2, and 3
  Terms of Reference: Steps 1, 2, and 3 of the template establish the scope of your HACCP plan, clearly defining what your business does and the processes involved. This initial step ensures your HACCP system focuses on the relevant areas for maximum effectiveness.
• STEPS 4 and 5
  Flow Diagram: Visualizing your food production process through a flow diagram (step 4) is crucial for identifying potential hazards at each stage. The template guides you in customizing this diagram to accurately reflect your unique operations.
  Don’t forget step 5, to confirm the accuracy of this diagram! 
• STEP 6
  This step has 3 parts:
  1. Identify Hazards: This step delves into hazard identification, prompting you to analyze each step in your flow diagram for potential biological, chemical, physical, or allergen hazards. The template provides a reference to the six hazards outlined in the BRCGS Food Standard, while acknowledging the need to consider additional hazards specific to your industry standards.
  2. Risk Assessment: After identifying hazards, step 6 also involves assessing their likelihood and severity of causing harm. The template guides you through this process, assigning risk scores based on a Risk Priority Number (RPN) methodology. This helps prioritize critical control points (CCPs) where preventive measures are essential. There is a tab detailing a risk matrix to help you interpret the likelihood and severity scores you decide to assign. This visual tool aids in prioritizing risks and allocating resources effectively.
  3. Step 6 finally requires Control Measures: Based on your risk assessment, decide which additional control measures should be implemented, to mitigate the identified hazards. The template emphasizes the importance of these measures being specific to each process step and goes beyond basic prerequisite programs.
• STEP 7
  Based on the controls measures identified, and the associated residual risk of the hazard causing harm – identify which of the above control measures are critical to the safety of your product – these are your critical control points (CCPs). A decision tree may be used and can be helpful – this is optional however. 
• STEP 8
  Critical Limits: this defines the critical limits associated with any CCPs you identified. These limits establish clear boundaries for what is considered safe and acceptable, ensuring your control measures function effectively.
• STEP 9
  Monitoring: Keeping watch over your CCPs is vital, and step 9 addresses monitoring procedures. The template highlights the need for regular monitoring to confirm your control measures are working as intended.
• STEP 10
  Corrective Actions: Having a plan for when things go wrong is crucial. Step 10 guides you in establishing corrective actions to address deviations from established critical limits, ensuring prompt intervention to maintain food safety.
• STEP 11
  Verification and Validation: Regularly reviewing and validating your HACCP system is essential. Step 11 provides prompts for annual verification and validation activities, ensuring your system remains effective over time. The terms Verification and Validation are often confused and used interchangeably and this causes significant problems and non-conformities in the food and associated industries. For clarification of the terms in general, you can watch our video:

• What Is Meant By Validation and Verification In The Food Industry

  Or attend our courses for in-depth understanding of the requirements.
  In addition, we have specifically explained how these terms apply to HACCP in this video:
  HACCP Plan Validation Explained

• STEP 12
  Documentation: Maintaining clear and comprehensive documentation is paramount. Step 12 emphasizes the importance of documenting procedures, records, and test results to demonstrate your commitment to food safety and regulatory compliance.

Benefits of Using the HACCP Template

• Standardised Approach: The template provides a structured framework for developing and implementing your HACCP system, ensuring consistency and compliance with best practices.
• Customization: While offering a standardized approach, the template allows for customisation to fit the specific needs and processes of your business.
• Timesaving: By providing pre-defined sections and prompts, the template saves time and effort compared to building a HACCP system from scratch.
• Compliance: Following the Codex Alimentarius principles and incorporating industry best practices helps ensure your HACCP system meets regulatory and GFSI requirements.

Conclusion

The STC’s HACCP template is a valuable tool for businesses in the food industry to create and implement an effective HACCP system. By following the template’s guidance and incorporating best practices, food businesses can demonstrate their commitment to producing safe and legal products, protecting consumers and their brand reputation. Remember, this is just an overview, and it’s essential that your HACCP Team Leader (PCQI in the US) and your HACCP Team is both knowledgeable and competent to ensure your HACCP system fully meets your specific needs and complies with all applicable regulations. Should you need independent consultancy support, do contact our sister company QTC for interim resource, independent internal audits, mock audits or specialist consultancy support. 

STC provides a number of HACCP & Food Safety courses, visit our virtual course menu here and our onsite course menu here.

STC also provides HACCP certification for your business.