Product & Regulatory

HACCP — the hazard plan, done properly.

Seven-principle HACCP plans built on credible hazard analysis and tested operational control — audit-ready for regulators, buyers, and parallel food-safety schemes.

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What it is

The systematic approach to food safety hazard control.

HACCP — Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points — is a systematic preventive approach to food safety codified by Codex Alimentarius. It identifies biological, chemical, physical, and allergen hazards in food production and establishes critical control points where hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels. It is the foundation of nearly every modern food-safety scheme — ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF, and FSSAI's own food-safety expectations all rest on it.

A standalone HACCP certification is issued by accredited certification bodies and remains widely respected in domestic and regional food supply chains. Where global retail acceptance matters, HACCP is usually absorbed into a broader GFSI-recognised scheme — but the underlying discipline is identical.

Who needs it

Food businesses at every stage of the chain.

Food manufacturers, processors, and packers; commissaries, central kitchens, and contract caterers; hotels, restaurants, and institutional foodservice; cold-chain logistics and distribution operators; and primary producers where hazard-based control matters. HACCP-based plans are a statutory expectation under FSSAI in India and equivalent regulators worldwide; a certified HACCP system is a common buyer-facing requirement where ISO 22000 is not yet justified.

Benefits

What a well-built BIFMA system earns you.

Regulatory eligibility.

FSSAI, EU food-safety authorities, and most national regulators expect HACCP-based plans. Certification signals that the plan has been externally reviewed.

Buyer acceptance.

Domestic retailers, foodservice chains, and export customers routinely require HACCP certification as a baseline supplier expectation.

Reduced recall risk.

Proper hazard analysis and monitored CCPs catch control failures before they become consumer events.

Platform for ISO 22000.

A mature HACCP plan is the operational heart of an ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 system. HACCP first, then scheme upgrade, is often the most economical path.

Allergen and fraud control.

Modern HACCP practice includes allergen control and food-fraud vulnerability assessment, which buyer audits now explicitly test.

Traceability discipline.

The records and monitoring discipline required for HACCP also supports the one-step-up, one-step-down traceability regulators require.

Requirements, in outline

What the standard actually asks of you.

The Codex HACCP approach is built on seven principles: conduct a hazard analysis; determine the critical control points; establish critical limits; establish monitoring procedures; establish corrective actions; establish verification procedures; and establish documentation and record-keeping. Preceding these are preliminary steps — assemble a HACCP team, describe the product, identify intended use, construct a flow diagram, and confirm the flow diagram on site.

Modern HACCP implementations sit on a base of prerequisite programmes covering GMP, sanitation, pest control, water quality, allergen management, and traceability. The distinction between prerequisite programmes and CCPs matters: CCPs are the points where specific hazards must be controlled, with monitored critical limits. PRPs provide the hygienic and operational conditions under which the CCPs can work. Confusing the two — or over-counting CCPs — is the single most common failure pattern in first-time HACCP plans.

Our approach

Five stages, from discovery to certificate.

Preliminary steps

HACCP team assembly, product description including intended use and consumer profile, and flow diagram construction, walked and verified on site.

Hazard analysis

Systematic identification of biological, chemical, physical, and allergen hazards, severity and likelihood assessment, and identification of control measures.

CCP determination & limits

Apply the Codex decision tree or equivalent logic to identify true CCPs. Establish validated critical limits backed by evidence, not tradition.

Monitoring, corrective action, verification

Monitoring procedures that operators actually run, corrective-action procedures scoped to the critical limit deviation, and independent verification activities.

Certification audit

Stage 1 and Stage 2 attendance, findings response, and surveillance support. For clients also pursuing ISO 22000, we coordinate timing and scope.

Timeline & investment

Honest ranges, not placeholder pricing.

A food business with existing GMP practice and a documented process flow typically reaches HACCP certification in eight to twelve weeks. Businesses starting without documented PRPs extend the timeline to four to five months, as the PRP base must be established before HACCP can work.

Fees depend on site count, product complexity, and the number of HACCP plans required (typically one per product family). Certification body fees are separate.

Frequently asked

Questions we answer on most BIFMA calls.

FSSAI licensing is a statutory requirement for food businesses in India and references hazard-based approaches. HACCP certification is a voluntary third-party attestation that a hazard-based plan exists, is sound, and is operating. The two are complementary.

Fewer than most first-time plans identify. A mature HACCP plan for a heat-treated food typically has one to three CCPs. Plans with eight or ten CCPs usually reflect confusion between CCPs and PRPs.

Plans may be combined where products share a common process flow and hazard profile. Product families with materially different hazards — different allergens, different heat treatments, different packaging — warrant separate plans.

A kill step is a common example of a CCP — for example, a cook step for pathogens. But CCPs can also be non-kill controls such as metal detection for physical hazards or pH control for certain foods. CCP is the broader category.

At least annually, and on any material change — new product, new process, new equipment, new supplier, new packaging, new regulation, or failure of an existing control. Review cadence is one of the first things an auditor asks for evidence of.

Related services

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Half a day with a senior consultant, a clause-level gap report, and a candid timeline. No commitment beyond the assessment itself.

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