iPrep
ES Download
Study guide

The 7 HACCP Principles, Explained for Food Managers

Last checked:

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a system for controlling food safety hazards at the steps where they can be prevented. It has 7 principles: hazard analysis, critical control points, critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record keeping.

PrincipleExample
1. Conduct a hazard analysisSalmonella in raw chicken
2. Identify critical control pointsCooking the chicken
3. Set critical limits165°F internal temperature
4. MonitorCheck every batch with a calibrated thermometer
5. Take corrective actionsKeep cooking until it reaches 165°F
6. VerifyA manager reviews the logs and thermometer calibration
7. Keep recordsCooking logs and corrective action records

What to know for the exam

  • A HACCP plan is required when an operation needs a variance, for example for curing, smoking for preservation, reduced oxygen packaging or live shellfish tanks.
  • The size of an operation does not trigger the requirement; the process does.
  • The plan comes with supporting documents: a training plan and blank record forms.
  • Active managerial control is the everyday version of the same idea: the person in charge sets up procedures, monitors them and corrects problems.

Quick quiz: haccp principles

  1. Question 1 of 5 · Management systemsBlank record forms needed to implement a HACCP plan must be
    Show answer and explanation

    submitted as supporting documents with the plan.

    Copies of the blank record forms necessary to implement the HACCP plan must be submitted as supporting documents with the plan itself. Requiring the forms up front forces the operator to work out who records what and when before the process starts, rather than improvising once it is running.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 8-201.14(F)(2)

  2. Question 2 of 5 · Management systemsA written food safety management system must be developed and maintained within how long after the regulatory authority adopts the Code?
    Show answer and explanation

    4 years

    Within 4 years of the regulatory authority's adoption of the Code, a written food safety management system must be developed and maintained, implemented during all hours of operation, and made available to the regulatory authority on request. There is an exception for establishments the regulatory authority deems minimal risk based on the nature of the operation.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 8-201.15

  3. Question 3 of 5 · Management systemsA HACCP plan must describe the ingredients, recipes, materials and equipment used, along with
    Show answer and explanation

    methods and procedural control measures that address the food safety concerns involved.

    The plan must set out the ingredients, recipes or formulations, materials and equipment used in preparing each specific food or category, together with the methods and procedural control measures that address the food safety concerns involved. Listing what goes in is only half of it; the plan has to say how the hazard is controlled.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 8-201.14(D)

  4. Question 4 of 5 · Management systemsWhich is a duty of the person in charge?
    Show answer and explanation

    Routinely monitoring that employees are effectively cleaning their hands

    The person in charge must ensure employees are effectively cleaning their hands by routinely monitoring their handwashing. The latest Food Code frames this whole list as maintaining active managerial control of foodborne illness risk factors. That is the key idea: the PIC's job is building systems and monitoring them, not personally performing every task, which is what makes the other options wrong.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 2-103.11(D)

  5. Question 5 of 5 · Management systemsWhich supporting document must accompany a HACCP plan?
    Show answer and explanation

    A food employee and supervisory training plan addressing the food safety issues of concern

    Supporting documents must include a food employee and supervisory training plan addressing the food safety issues of concern, copies of blank record forms needed to implement the plan, and any additional scientific data the regulatory authority requires. All are priority foundation items. A plan nobody has been trained to run is not a control.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 8-201.14(F)(1)

Take the 40 question practice test

Questions and answers

What are the 7 principles of HACCP?

Hazard analysis, critical control points, critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record keeping.

What is a critical control point?

A step where control can be applied to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to a safe level, such as cooking or cooling.

When is a HACCP plan required?

When a variance is needed for a specialized process such as curing, smoking for preservation or reduced oxygen packaging, or when the regulatory authority requires one.

Other topics

Ready for the full practice?

500+ exam-style questions, a timed 90 question exam simulator and a study plan built around your exam date.

Download on the App Store

Free to download. Start with a free 20 question diagnostic. For iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo.