Lesson · Food Safety Plan
Recipe Based SP Process
Objective: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to write a recipe-based HACCP plan for one menu item. You will be able to:
- Draw a flow diagram for a recipe.
- Find its critical control points.
- Complete a HACCP worksheet with limits, monitoring, corrective actions and records.
The steps
- Describe the product: name, ingredients, how it is served, shelf life, who eats it.
- Draw the flow diagram: every step from receiving to service.
- Analyse the hazards at each step — biological, chemical (including allergens) and physical.
- Identify the critical control points (CCPs): steps where control is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to a safe level.
- Set critical limits for each CCP — usually time and temperature.
- Decide how to monitor each limit: what, how, how often, who.
- Write corrective actions for when a limit is missed.
- Plan verification: how you check the system works (reviewing logs, calibrating thermometers).
- Set up records and keep them.
Worked example: chicken salad for sandwiches
Flow: receive raw chicken → refrigerate → cook → cool → refrigerate → mix with mayonnaise and vegetables → cold hold → assemble sandwiches → serve.
| Step | Hazard | CCP? | Critical limit | Monitoring | Corrective action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Bacterial growth if delivered warm | No — controlled by receiving procedures | Chicken at 4 °C (40 °F) or below | Probe each delivery, record | Reject the delivery |
| Cooking | Survival of Salmonella and Campylobacter | Yes | Internal temperature 74 °C (165 °F) | Probe the thickest part of each batch, record | Keep cooking until the limit is reached |
| Cooling | Growth of spore-forming bacteria | Yes | 60 °C to 21 °C (140 °F to 70 °F) within 2 hours, then to 4 °C (40 °F) or below within 4 more hours | Probe and record at 2 h and 6 h | Reheat to 74 °C and restart cooling if still within the first stage; otherwise discard |
| Cold holding | Bacterial growth | Yes | 4 °C (40 °F) or below; use within the date on the label | Check and record twice a day | Discard if above the limit for an unknown time |
| Mixing | Cross-contamination, allergens (egg in mayonnaise) | No — controlled by hygiene and allergen procedures | Clean, sanitized utensils; gloves for ready-to-eat food | Supervisor check | Re-clean, retrain |
Cooling limits shown are those used in Canada and the FDA Food Code (the US code uses 41 °F / 5 °C for cold holding). Check your local code.
Tips
- Only steps that are essential are CCPs. Good hygiene, cleaning and receiving are covered by your prerequisite programs (see The Foundation: Prerequisite Programs).
- Write limits as numbers someone can measure, never “cook well” or “cool quickly”.
- Use the editable templates in Build Your Own Food Safety Plan to complete your worksheet.