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HACCP method

The 7 Essential Principles of the HACCP Method for ensuring Food Safety

The HACCP method is built on 7 fundamental principles that ensure food safety at every stage of production.

From identifying hazards to establishing critical control points and implementing corrective actions, these principles are key to preventing risks.

Learn how to effectively apply these practices in your food preparation process.

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The 7 fundamental principles of the HACCP method

  1. List potential hazards
    To ensure food safety, it is crucial to identify and assess hazards. At each stage of food production, risks can emerge, and their identification is necessary. Risk analysis involves three key steps: risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication.
  2. Identify critical control points (CCPs)
    Once you have established the list of hazards, it is important to identify the critical control points (CCPs). These act as safeguards, aiming to counter potential risks during the food preparation process. Examples of critical control points include checking the temperature of refrigeration units, pH control, cleaning and disinfection, allergens, etc.
  3. Set limits for each critical control point
    Each critical control point must have a limit. If this limit is exceeded, the food is considered unsafe for consumption. A limit can correspond to a temperature, humidity level, product size, or proper labeling.
  4. Establish monitoring procedures
    To control the various critical control points, it is essential to carry out measurements. These measurements are physical and/or chemical analyses. A thermometer can be used to check temperature, a pH meter to ensure the acidity or alkalinity of a food, or a stopwatch for the duration of pasteurization or sterilization.
  5. Define corrective actions
    If monitoring indicates that critical control points are not under control, corrective actions must be defined. This involves analyzing the cause of non-compliance, considering the risks, and documenting these actions. A corrective action could be rejecting a delivery when the received temperature is unsuitable for the delivered product.
  6. Verify corrective actions
    To ensure the effectiveness of corrective actions, additional tests are necessary to confirm that the products pose no health risks to consumers. For instance, checking whether the thermometer calibration that validates the cold room temperature is accurate, or ensuring the correct calibration of electronic oil testers.
  7. Create a log to document all your actions
    This log should include all steps, controls, procedures, and recorded operating methods. These records must be maintained and may be requested during inspections.
    For example, if a refrigerator’s temperature was too high, the corrective action must be documented in this log.
    Proper maintenance of this log is crucial because, in the event of a health inspection, it serves as proof of your HACCP compliance.
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The key principles of food traceability

To fully comply with the HACCP method, you must ensure flawless traceability of all your products and all sensitive steps identified by the HACCP method.

What is traceability? It’s actually the journey of a food item from its original state to its consumption by the final customer.

In catering, its journey starts with the receipt of goods and ends with serving on the plate. For bakers, butchers, fishmongers…, the endpoint of product traceability is the sale or delivery to a customer.

ePackPro: your trusted partner for meeting hygiene regulations

Our digital traceability tool is designed and conceived by a restaurateur, fully aware of the various hygiene standards and the importance of complying with hygiene rules for the quality of products served to customers.

ePackPro integrates all regulatory obligations and helps you ensure your HACCP compliance while saving time.

Don’t stress! Simplicity is at your fingertips with ePackPro, by digitizing your traceability processes.

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