HACCP

What Is HACCP?

HACCP is a preventive way to manage food safety. The seven principles explained simply, with the packs used in each UK nation.

By the Food Hygiene Hub team · 2 min read

The short answer

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a preventive way to manage food safety: you work out what could go wrong, then control it at the points that matter. UK food businesses must have procedures based on HACCP, in proportion to their size and what they do.

What does HACCP mean in practice?

HACCP looks forward. Instead of only testing food at the end, you identify hazards in advance and set checks at the steps where they can be controlled. Cooking chicken to a safe temperature and checking it with a probe is a simple example.

What are the seven principles of HACCP?

HACCP is built on seven principles:

Conduct a hazard analysis
Determine critical control points
Establish critical limits
Establish monitoring
Establish corrective actions
Establish verification
Keep documentation and records

How do small businesses use HACCP?

Small businesses often use a ready-made pack that applies HACCP principles in a simpler format:

England and Wales: Safer Food, Better Business, with a Welsh version available
Northern Ireland: Safe Catering
Scotland: CookSafe for caterers and RetailSafe for retailers
MyHACCP is the FSA's free online HACCP tool

Our certificates are private training certificates of completion, not regulated qualifications. UK law does not require one specific food hygiene certificate. It requires food handlers to be supervised and instructed or trained appropriately. Employers decide what training each role needs, and a certificate does not replace practical instruction or supervision.