How to create a HACCP plan

How to Create a HACCP Plan for a Restaurant

Restaurant operators know that food safety is critical. Thankfully, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) provides a tool that helps them avoid common foodservice risks. First implemented as a rule in large scale food production in the 1990s, HACCP reduced foodborne illness by 20 percent in its first seven years and has since become a global standard for food safety procedures.1

HACCP — along with its more modern counterpart, HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventative Controls) — provide evidence-based plans to help operations identify and control food-related risks. Today, many food processing businesses are required to establish their own HACCP plan.

What is a HACCP Plan?

Simply put, "Hazard Analysis" involves identifying and evaluating all potential food hazards in your operation, while "Critical Control Points" means making operational controls or corrections to prevent, eliminate, or reduce those risks to a safe level.

A HACCP plan involves specific steps that ensure food safety from harvest to service. It's based on scientific research and testing, and it provides practical methods for preventing, eliminating, or reducing food hazards. Foodservice operations and restaurants can apply the principles of HACCP to maintain safe environments in their operations.

The seven principles of HACCP, first published by NACMCF (National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods) in 1992, serve as an outline for creating a customized HACCP plan. Carefully review each of them and determine how to apply them to create a HACCP plan for your restaurant.

First Steps

Before implementing the seven principles, operators must ensure they are set up to do so by following these steps:

  1. Maintain the prerequisite environment: Follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and the FDA Food Code to ensure safety and sanitation.
  2. Assemble your HACCP team: An ideal team has members from multiple disciplines and perspectives with experience in food safety.
  3. Describe your food: Document the types of food you produce, how they're typically served, and who the intended customers are.
  4. Create a flow diagram: Develop a detailed flow chart that maps out each step of your business operation. This visual guide is essential for identifying potential hazards.

After completing all these steps, you're ready to draft a HACCP plan.

The Seven Principles of HACCP

1. Conduct a Hazard Analysis

A Hazard Analysis identifies three kinds of significant risks in your process: biological, chemical, and physical hazards that can cause illness or injury if not controlled.

This process involves two main stages: hazard identification, in which potential hazards are identified by reviewing ingredients, processes, equipment, and intended use, and hazard evaluation, in which each hazard, using expert input and relevant data, is assessed based on its severity and likelihood of occurrence. Only hazards deemed likely and severe should be included in the HACCP plan.

Lastly, control measures are identified for each hazard. One measure may address multiple hazards, or multiple measures may be needed for one hazard. This first step is essential for establishing effective critical control points.

Operator Tip

Control measures are actions or activities used to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a significant hazard to an acceptable level.

2. Determine Critical Control Points

A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a specific step in food production in which specific controls must be applied to address risk factors. You can identify CCPs based on your Hazard Analysis using tools like a decision tree and expert judgment.2

CCPs can occur at various points in the food preparation process, such as cooking to kill pathogens, chilling to prevent microbial growth, testing for chemical residues, adjusting pH levels, or using metal detectors to find contaminants. For example, cooking chicken to a set temperature to eliminate bacteria or refrigerating precooked foods to prevent spoilage are both CCPs. The specific CCPs will vary between facilities based on their processes, equipment, and product ingredients.

3. Establish Critical Limits

In this step, critical limits indicate the specific maximum or minimum value a parameter must meet at a critical control point to ensure food safety. These science-based limits help distinguish between safe and unsafe operations. To control pathogens in beef patties, for example, one facility might set critical limits for oven temperature and humidity to ensure each patty reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit for a specific duration. Another facility might directly monitor patty internal temperature and hold time on a griddle. No matter which method you use, each control measure at a CCP must have clear, measurable limits based on food safety data.

4. Establish Monitoring Procedures

After establishing the control points, you'll need to monitor your process with a systematic observation or measurement of a CCP to keep it under control and maintain a record. This monitoring procedure serves three key purposes: tracking trends to maintain control, identifying deviations from critical limits, and providing documentation.

In large food facilities, operators ideally assign continuous monitoring to trained personnel who understand the importance of accurate, unbiased reporting. All monitoring records must be dated and signed. When continuous monitoring isn’t possible, procedures must be frequent, reliable, and use rapid methods for real-time processing.

5. Establish Corrective Actions

Corrective actions in your HACCP plan are necessary when there's a deviation from one of your critical limits. Operators must prevent potentially hazardous food from reaching consumers. Whenever deviations occur, identify and fix the cause of the problem, decide what to do with the affected product, and document the steps taken.

Corrective procedures should be planned for each critical control point and included in the HACCP plan, which will specify what actions to take, who is responsible, and how records will be kept. Trained individuals with an understanding of the process should oversee corrective actions and may consult experts if needed.

6. Establish Verification Procedures

Verification in a HACCP system relies on reviewing records, control procedures, and system performance to confirm the plan is scientifically sound and being followed. It should confirm that all hazards are identified and controlled and that the system functions as intended.

Conduct initial validation after 90 days of original implementation, using expert input and in-house data such as confirming cooking times and temperatures. Ongoing verification should include comprehensive annual checks and periodic evaluations, especially after system failures and process changes or when new hazards show up. All verification efforts must be done by qualified individuals with technical food safety knowledge.

7. Establish Recordkeeping Procedures

Finally, HACCP system records should cover both the development and operation of the plan. Be prepared to keep extensive documentation, including a summary of the hazard analysis with the reasoning behind hazard identification and control measures, the full HACCP plan, the HACCP team and their assigned roles, a description of the product and its intended use, and a flow diagram.

It helps if you create a HACCP Plan Summary Table that outlines each CCP alongside associated hazards, critical limits, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, verification methods, and record-keeping practices. Include who is responsible for each task and how often it must be performed. Your system should also maintain supporting documentation, such as validation records and all control records generated during daily operations.

HACCP Plan Example

Once you've assembled your team and ensured your equipment meets Good Manufacturing Practices, you're ready to put your plan together. Let's take a sample HACCP plan to illustrate how a casual burger restaurant can ensure its food safety.

The description will note that you serve ready-to-eat meals consisting of meat, bread, cheese and other ingredients. Enumerate the food categories you serve and the level of preparation required for each ingredient.

This information will help create a flow chart for every product, such as frozen beef:

beef patty prep flow chart

Note that these burgers are served to the general public, which could include sensitive populations that are more susceptible to food risks.

Below is a sample table outlining how each of the seven principles would apply to preparing beef patties:

HACCP example chart

FAQ

Who is required to maintain a HACCP plan?

HACCP is required for certain establishments mandated by the FDA and USDA. FDA-regulated facilities include international importers and facilities engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for consumption in the United States.3 Facilities that produce meat, poultry, and egg items are required to register with the USDA.4 Retail and foodservice operations are regulated by state and local laws, where HACCP is usually optional. However, the FDA encourages the voluntary use of food safety management systems like HACCP to take purposeful actions for safe food.5

How often should you update your HACCP plan?

After an initial validation within the first 90 days of implementation, you should verify your plan activities at least once a year or when there are significant changes to critical limits, process, equipment, or a system failure.2

Who inspects HACCP plans are done correctly?

HACCP plans are a joint effort involving a team from multiple disciplines. Large operations should have a dedicated HACCP coordinator and quality assurance personnel. For smaller operations, it will be up to the operator to delegate tasks. It's also helpful to hire an independent expert to evaluate your plan.

Is HACCP still relevant for foodservice?

A standard operation in the United States for more than 30 years, HACCP has proved an effective tool at reducing foodborne risks, and its adoption continues to spread across the globe. Many food manufacturing facilities now use digital versions of HACCP models, which provide easy data management, record automation, and hazard analysis.6

References

  1. History, Development, and Current Status of Food Safety Systems Worldwide. National Library of Medicine. Accessed March 2025
  2. HACCP Principles & Application Guidelines. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025
  3. Registration of Food Facilities and Other Submissions. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
  4. Summary of Federal Inspection Requirements for Meat Producers. USDA. Accessed March 2025.
  5. Managing Food Safety: A Manual for the Voluntary Use of HACCP Principles for Operators of Food Service and Retail Establishments. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
  6. Nestle Takes a Proactive Approach to Food Safety With Digital HACCP and Cloud Automation. Consumer Goods Technology. Accessed March 2025