Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points is a planning system required by law for juice, seafood meat, and poultry manufacturers to systematically identify and control food safety hazards in the product. Use of this system in other food applications is voluntary, but highly encouraged.
HACCP has seven principles (Figure 4) that help identify the operational hazards associated with your process, establish scientifically validated process parameters to ensure foods safety and establish monitoring controls and records to manage food safety risks. For more details on how to start HACCP planning for your business, take a formal course.
The UMASS Food Science Extension currently offers an Introduction to HACCP certification course. Visit the training page for upcoming courses!
For a HACCP plan to be recognized it must be documented as adequate by an impartial HACCP expert or auditor. Find a list of such resources on the Food Science Extension Webpage.
Learn more of the steps and actions of the HACCP
- FDA: HACCP Principles & Application Guidelines
- FDA: Manual for the Voluntary use of HACCP Principles
- International HACCP Alliance
- Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Food Processors Manual Section 3
HACCP is NOT Preventive Controls
Although preventive controls and HACCP are similar, they serve different purposes as well as have different terms and methods to their food management systems. HACCP covers juice, seafood, dairy, meat, poultry, and a few other special conditions products. As for preventive controls covers the remaining food products. You can check out, Table 1: Quick Guide of Food Product Regulations Requirements, for a better visual of what certain regulations are covered.
As for the difference of terms and methods, below is a table to easily visualize the the controls and monitoring methods that each provides.
| Control | Monitoring | Correction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HACCP | Critical Control Points (CCPs) | Critical Limits | Corrective Action |
| Preventive Controls |
|
Parameters & Values | Corrective Action or Corrections |
For more information about Preventive Controls and what the purpose of Preventive Controls is, feel free to check out the other sub-section Preventive Controls as well as our additional resources.