Lesson · Food Safety Plan
Kinds of Food Safety Plan (SP)
Objective: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to choose the right type of Food Safety Plan for your operation. You will be able to:
- Explain the recipe-based (product) approach.
- Explain the process-based approach used by most restaurants.
- Decide which approach fits your menu.
Two ways to apply HACCP
Both types of plan use the same seven HACCP principles you studied earlier. The difference is how you organize the work.
1. Recipe-based (product-based) plans
A separate HACCP plan is written for each product or recipe: its own flow diagram, hazard analysis, critical control points, limits, monitoring and records. This is the traditional approach used in food manufacturing and processing.
- Best for: small, stable menus; production kitchens and commissaries; products sold packaged; specialized processes such as curing, smoking or sous vide that need their own HACCP plan.
- Strength: very precise control of each product.
- Limit: with a large or changing menu, the paperwork quickly becomes impossible to maintain.
2. Process-based plans
Instead of one plan per recipe, you group menu items by how they flow through your kitchen. This approach, promoted by the US FDA for restaurants and retail food service, recognizes three basic processes:
| Process | What happens | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — No cook | Food is received, stored, prepared and served without cooking | Green salads, oysters on the half shell, tartare, cut fruit |
| 2 — Same-day service | Food is cooked and served or held hot on the same day | Grilled steak, burgers, roast chicken, fried fish |
| 3 — Complex | Food is cooked, cooled, stored, then reheated and served — or goes through the danger zone more than once | Stocks and soups, braises, sauces made ahead, cooked rice, chili |
Every item in the same process shares the same critical controls, so one set of procedures covers dozens of dishes.
- Best for: most restaurants, cafés, bistros and caterers with varied menus.
- Strength: simple to train, easy to update when the menu changes.
- Limit: you still need extra steps for any special recipe or process.
Which one should you use?
Most restaurants use a process-based plan for the whole menu and add a recipe-based plan for any special process (for example, house-cured gravlax or sous-vide short ribs). The next two lessons walk you through each one.