The 7 HACCP principles

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is the internationally recognized, systematic framework for identifying and controlling food-safety risks, built around seven formal principles. (1) Conduct a hazard analysis — identify biological, chemical, and physical hazards at every step from receiving to service. (2) Determine the critical control points (CCPs) — the specific steps where a hazard can actually be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to a safe level (for example, a cooking or hot-holding step, not a step where control isn't realistically possible).

(3) Establish critical limits for each CCP — a measurable boundary such as a minimum hot-holding temperature or maximum time in the temperature danger zone. (4) Establish monitoring procedures — how and how often each CCP is actually checked, and by whom. (5) Establish corrective actions — the specific, pre-decided response when a critical limit is breached, so staff aren't improvising food-safety decisions under pressure.

(6) Establish verification procedures — checks that the whole system is actually working as designed, such as periodic review of logs or equipment calibration checks, distinct from the routine monitoring in step 4. (7) Establish record-keeping and documentation — the logs and paperwork that prove the system was followed, which is what makes a HACCP system auditable rather than just a private habit. Two related concepts sit underneath all seven principles in beverage operations specifically: the temperature danger zone (the range in which bacteria multiply fastest, generally cited as roughly 5–60°C, which is why cold holding and hot holding targets sit outside that band on either side) and TCS foods (Time/Temperature Control for Safety foods — items like dairy, dairy-based bases, and prepared perishables that specifically require temperature or time control to stay safe, which is why milk, batched dairy drinks, and similar prepared items carry strict cold-chain and discard-time rules).