What are the most important food safety practices for your facility?

2 Preventive controls

Once you have identified the CCPs, you need to implement preventive controls that are designed to prevent or minimize the occurrence of the hazards. Preventive controls can include process controls, such as temperature, pH, or moisture levels, sanitation controls, such as cleaning and disinfecting equipment and surfaces, allergen controls, such as segregating and labeling ingredients and products, and supply chain controls, such as verifying the safety of your raw materials and suppliers.

3 Monitoring and verification

To ensure that your preventive controls are effective and consistent, you need to monitor them regularly and record the results. Monitoring involves measuring and observing the CCPs and comparing them to the established limits or criteria. If a deviation occurs, you need to take corrective actions to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again. Verification involves checking and validating that your monitoring and corrective actions are adequate and reliable. Verification can include testing, auditing, reviewing records, or calibrating instruments.

5 Training and education

Training and education are crucial for ensuring that your staff are aware and competent in food safety practices. You need to provide regular and relevant training and education to your employees at all levels, from managers to operators. Your training and education should cover the basics of food safety, such as hygiene, personal protective equipment, and cross-contamination, as well as the specific requirements and expectations of your food safety plan, such as the CCPs, preventive controls, and recordkeeping. You should also evaluate the effectiveness of your training and education and provide feedback and improvement opportunities.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?