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1.

An Introduction to Hazard
Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP)
for Food Catering
Businesses
A Food Safety Management
System

1. Introduction
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP) is a systematic approach to
identifying and controlling hazards
(i.e. microbiological, chemical or physical)
that could pose a threat to the preparation
of safe food. HACCP involves:

identifying what can go wrong

planning to prevent it

making sure you are doing it.

In simple terms, it involves controlling

ingredients and supplies coming into a
catering business and what is done with
them thereafter.

2. Scope

3. Purpose

Businesses that are considered to be within the scope of this

document will collectively be referred to as catering businesses
and include such premises as hotels, restaurants, public houses,
take-aways, sandwich bars, delicatessens, coffee shops, street
vendors, mobile shops, vending machines, outside catering
companies, hospitals and other institution catering operations.

This document is not a HACCP system. It is a guide for catering

businesses to assist in the development and implementation of
their own HACCP only after appropriate prerequisites are in place
(see Section 5). The nature and the complexity of each individual
HACCP will, in practice, depend on the nature and
complexity of the specific catering business.
Users of this document should also consult the
National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)
standard I.S. 343:2000, which outlines a food
safety management system based on the
principles of HACCP.

JAM

BREAD

4. Legal Obligations
to their business and that their employees are suitably trained to ensure
effective implementation. See FSAI publication Choosing an External
HACCP Consultant for further information.

Since 1998 it has been a legal requirement for all catering businesses
to have a food safety management system based on the principles of
HACCP. The European Communities Hygiene of Foodstuffs Regulations,
2000 (S.I. No. 165 of 2000) outline what is required by catering
businesses in terms of food safety management based on the principles
of HACCP. The proprietor of a catering business has a legal obligation
to understand what the Hygiene of Foodstuffs Regulations demand and
be able to explain how they have been applied in a catering business.
Environmental health officers (EHOs) currently assess catering businesses
for compliance with the aforementioned legislation. It is the
responsibility of the catering business, not the EHO or other regulatory
authorities, to develop and implement a food safety management
system based on the principles of HACCP.
Food safety training is essential to all catering businesses
in ensuring the preparation and service of safe food. It is
a legal requirement that employees involved in a catering
business are adequately trained and/or supervised
commensurate with their work activity. The
responsibility for training and supervision of
employees (full-time, part-time or casual) lies
solely with the proprietor of a catering business.
See Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
publications Guide to Food Safety Training Levels
One, Two and Three for further information.
Where a HACCP system has been devised by an
external consultant it is essential that there is
appropriate ownership of the system by the
catering business itself. Proprietors using external
consultants should ensure they know how the
HACCP system works and how it is being applied

It is unrealistic to operate HACCP or to demonstrate compliance with the

current legislation without providing evidence such as written records.
As with HACCP itself, the complexity of the record keeping will very
much depend on the nature and complexity of the business. The aim
should be to ensure control is maintained without generating excessive
paperwork.

5. Prerequisites (Safety Support Measures)*

information. Some businesses use external consultants to
assist with HACCP design and implementation. See FSAI
publication Choosing an External HACCP Consultant for further
information.

Before implementing HACCP, basic food hygiene conditions and

practices called prerequisites must to be in place in a food catering
business. HACCP will then be used to control steps in the business
which are critical in ensuring the preparation of safe food.
Prerequisites include where appropriate:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Cleaning and Sanitation

Maintenance
Personnel Hygiene
Pest Control
Plant and Equipment
Premises and Structure
Services (compressed air, ice,
steam, ventilation, water etc.)

2. Depending on the size of the business assemble staff into

a small team, with a team leader to lead in designing and
implementing HACCP. Use experienced members of your
staff. In a small business, of course, it may be that there is
only one staff member available to design and implement
the HACCP system. The advantage of a team is that
members tend to have in-depth knowledge of
all aspects of the operation which reduces
the risk of details being overlooked. In
addition a team setup will instil
ownership of HACCP by the catering
business.

8. Storage, Distribution and

Transport
9. Waste Management
10. Zoning (physical separation of
activities to prevent potential
food contamination)

Catering businesses should refer to NSAI standard I.S. 340:1994,

for further details on prerequisite requirements. See also FSAI
Guidance Note 10 - Product Recall and Traceability for further
information.

3. Examine the business and make sure all

members of the HACCP team are familiar
with its daily food preparation procedures.

6. HACCP

* New Codex Alimentarius Definition

HACCP uses an approach to food safety which concentrates a caterers

attention on the causes of food safety hazards. This allows a caterer
to identify and control food safety hazards. The development and
implementation of HACCP involves following a series of logical steps
as outlined in Sections 6.1 to 6.8.

6.1 Pre-Planning and Organisation

1. It is accepted that some catering businesses will not
have the skills or knowledge necessary to develop and
implement HACCP. Therefore the proprietor of a catering
business must ensure staff are trained in the concepts of
HACCP and provided with appropriate HACCP

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6.2

Describing Your Foods

6.3 Identifying Hazards

Look at all the foods that the catering business prepares.

Write down a description of each food. In so doing you will be
able to collect information which will be useful in identifying
hazards and determining controls later. Information which can
be collected which is useful will include:

For many catering businesses, identification of hazards is

probably the most difficult part of designing a HACCP system,
often due to lack of expertise. Training in HACCP is often not
sufficient to allow staff to identify hazards unless staff have
an appropriate understanding of microbiological and chemical
hazards in foods. Initially, try and find areas in the business
which could be considered as potential food safety hazards
(i.e. danger). If you find any hazards try and identify what
safety controls you may already have in place or what controls
would be necessary to eliminate or reduce the hazard to a safe
level. Physical hazards (e.g. glass) in foods are often easier to
identify as staff with an awareness of hygiene prerequisites
can identify and manage such hazards effectively.

1. A list of all ingredients used in the preparation of foods

2. A list of all food storage conditions
3. The sequence of steps in the preparation of a food.

JAM

Flow-diagrams are sometimes used to describe the sequence

of events in preparing a food from purchase of ingredients to
sale or service and can help in identifying hazards. By carefully
working through each step in a flow-diagram a catering
business can identify most hazards at each step in the
preparation of a food. An example of a simple flow-diagram
is given in Annex 1.

BREAD

6.4

Identifying Control Points and Critical Control Points

A control point is a point or step in food preparation where
control can be applied to help prevent a food safety hazard
occurring or reduce it to a safe level. Generally speaking
control can be monitored at a control point by ensuring that
the prerequisites (see Section 5) are in place. Some examples
of control points for chilled food are shown in Annex 2.
By contrast, a HACCP Critical Control Point (CCP) is a point or
step in food preparation in which control must be applied to
prevent a food safety hazard occurring or reduce it to a safe
level. It is the last chance to control a hazard before the food is
served. Some examples of HACCP CCP`s are shown in Annex 3.

6.7 Corrective Action

When monitoring of a CCP indicates that the critical limits have
not been complied with or adhered to, the catering business
must have a procedure on what action should be taken to bring
the CCP back within critical limits (i.e. corrective action). All
corrective action procedures should be documented and be
clear on the requirements for corrective action. Examples of
some corrective actions are given in Annex 3. Corrective action
procedures should include the following:

HACCP CCPs do not need to be complex but they must be

effective, practical and understood by staff. It is important to
note that prerequisite control points also require appropriate
control, monitoring and corrective action procedures. It is the
lower level and frequency of control, monitoring and recording
at control points which can be used to distinguish them from
HACCP CCPs. An illustrative example of a control point could
be the daily reading and recording of a refrigerators air
temperature and a HACCP CCP could be the twice daily reading
and recording of the foods temperature. It is important to
remember that if a catering businesses HACCP has too many
CCP`s, many of which may be in fact control points, the
effectiveness of that HACCP will be diminished.

1. What to do with the food

2. What to do to bring the process back under control
3. Which member of staff has responsibility for carrying
out corrective action.

6.5 Identifying CCP Critical Limits

When a CCP has been identified it is important to give it a
critical limit by which the catering business can decide if a food
is safe or not. Typically, critical limits are expressed in terms of
parameters such as temperature and time. Examples of some
critical limits are given in Annex 3.

6.6 Identifying Monitoring Methods

When CCP`s and critical limits have been identified it is
important for the food catering business to have a way to
monitor and ultimately record what is happening at each
CCP during the preparation of a food. Typically monitoring
will involve measuring parameters such as temperature and
time. However, how you monitor and how often will depend on
the size and nature of your catering business. Monitoring should
in all cases be simple, clear and easy to do. Examples of some
monitoring methods are given in Annexes 2 and 3.

7. Further Information

6.8 Reviewing HACCP

The review, checking and updating of your HACCP is an ongoing
and routine procedure which will always be part of any catering
businesses HACCP. The purpose of the review is twofold. Firstly,
upon implementation of HACCP it should be verified that it is
working as intended. On a regular basis it should be confirmed
that monitoring of CCPs is taking place and that control is being
maintained.

Food Safety Authority of Ireland

1. Selecting an External HACCP Consultant
2. Food Safety Management Based on the Principles
of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
3. Guidance Note No. 10. Product Recall and Traceability

Secondly, the review should verify and

validate that the HACCP, as designed, will
ensure the safety of the food. The hazard
analysis, identification of CCP and control
procedures should be reviewed on a
periodic basis (e.g. annually) and
whenever a change occurs in the
food business operation
e.g. new equipment,
which may affect
food safety.

4. Guidance Note No. 11. Assesment of compliance with the HACCP

based element (Regulation 4.2) of the European Communities
(Hygiene of foodstuffs) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. No. 165 of 2000)
(Revision 1)
5. Guide to Food Safety Training - Level One: Induction Skills
6. Guide to Food Safety Training - Level Two: Additional Skills
7. Guide to Food Safety Training- Level Three: Food Safety Training
Skills for Management.
National Standards Authority of Ireland

Hygiene in the Catering Sector. I.S. 340: 1994.

Food Safety Management Incorporating Hazard Analysis

Critical Control Point. I.S. 343: 2000.

8. Further Advice

Contact your local health board (see back cover)

Food Safety Authority of Ireland (see back cover)

Annex 1 Example of a Simple

Flow-Diagram for a Food
Catering Business

PURCHASE

RECEIPT/DELIVERY

AMBIENT/CHILLED/FROZEN
STORAGE

PREPARATION

COOKING

CHILLING

HOT HOLDING

REGENERATION

SERVICE

Annex 2 Some Suggested Prerequisite Control Points

Step

Purchase

Delivery of
Chilled Food
(which will be
subsequently cooked)

Hazards

Microbial, chemical
or physical
contamination
already in the food.

Microbial, chemical
or physical
contamination in
the food on the
delivery.
Damaged
packaging.

Control Points

Control Measures

Monitoring

Corrective Action

Use approved
suppliers only.

Use approved
suppliers only and
if possible have a
food specification
agreed with the
supplier before
delivery.

Where appropriate
conduct an annual
audit of suppliers.
Request a letter
of confirmation
from the supplier
on HACCP
implementation.

Remove supplier
from approved
list.

Chilled foods
should be 5C
(2C for minced
meat).

Record
temperature of the
food and delivery
vehicle.

Air temperature in
the delivery
vehicle should be
0C to 2C.

Check that the

vehicle and
delivery personnel
are clean and tidy.

Check food and

delivery vehicle
temperatures.
All packages
should be correctly
date-stamped,
labelled and not
damaged.

10

Reject delivery and

record findings.

Annex 3 Some Suggested HACCP Critical Control Points (CCPs)

Step

Cooking

Chilling

Hazards

Critical Control
Points

Critical Limits

Survival of
pathogenic
microorganisms in
the food due to
inadequate cooking.

Check food
temperature during
cooking and the
time the food
spends at these
temperatures.

Ensure the central

part of the food
reaches a
minimum of 70C
for 2 minutes or
equivalent
(e.g.75C
instantaneously).

Growth of
pathogenic
microorganisms in
the food due to
inadequate cooking
and/or slow
chilling.

Check food
temperature during
chilling and the
time the food
spends at these
temperatures.

Ensure the central

part of the food
reaches a
minimum of 5C
in 150 minutes
following
completion of
cooking.
Store cooked,
chilled foods at
3C but not
greater than 5C.

11

Monitoring

Probe and check

temperature/time
of the food and
record.

Probe and check

temperature/time
of the food and
record.

Corrective
Action
Continue cooking
until correct
temperature is
reached.
Review cooking
equipment,
procedures and staff
training.

Destroy and
discard the food
and record.
Review chilling
equipment,
procedures and
staff training.

East Coast Area Health Board

North Eastern Health Board

Block B
The Civic Centre
Main Street
Bray
Co. Wicklow
Tel: 01 2744200
Web: www.erha.ie

Administrative Head Office

Kells
Co. Meath
Tel: 046 9280500
Web: www.nehb.ie

Midland Health Board

Administrative Headquarters
Arden Road
Tullamore
Co. Offaly
Tel: 0506 21868
Web: www.mhb.ie

Mid-Western Health Board

31/33 Catherine Street
Limerick
Co. Limerick
Tel: 061 483286
Web: www.mwhb.ie

North Western Health Board

Headquarters
Manorhamilton
Co. Leitrim
Tel: 072 20400
Web: www.nwhb.ie

South Eastern Health Board

Head Office
Lacken
Dublin road
Kilkenny
Co. Kilkenny
Tel: 056 84100
Web: www.sehb.ie

South Western Area Health

Board
Oak House
Lime Tree Avenue
Millennium Park
Naas
Co. Kildare
Tel: 045 889100

Western Health Board

Administrative Headquarters
Merlin Park Regional Hospital
Galway
Co. Galway
Tel: 091 751131
Web: www.whb.ie

Southern Health Board

Northern Area Health Board
Head Office
Swords Business Campus
Balheary Road
Swords
Co. Dublin
Tel: 01 8131800

Administrative Headquarters
Wilton Road
Cork
Co. Cork
Tel: 021 4545011
Web: www.shb.ie

Abbey Court
Low er Abbey St reet , Dublin 1
Indust ry Advice Line: 1890 336677
Fax: 01 817 1301
Email: inf o@f sai.ie Websit e: w w w.f sai.ie