A Complete Guide to HACCP Audits: Principles, Types & Certification

Ensuring food safety and quality demands meticulous attention to detail and proactive hazard mitigation. For many businesses, this translates to navigating the complexities of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) audits. These HACCP audits are a critical component of complying with food safety standards. Thus, understanding their purpose and intricacies can enable you to approach them with more clarity.

Let’s explore how HACCP audits can help you maintain the highest standards of food safety.

Understanding HACCP Audits & Their Types

HACCP is a systematic approach to identifying, preventing, and controlling food safety hazards. HACCP audits, then, are rigorous evaluations conducted to assess whether your HACCP audit plan is effectively implemented and maintained.

Are HACCP Audits Mandatory?

The answer to whether HACCP implementation and audits, unfortunately, isn’t a simple yes or no. Whether HACCP plans and audits are mandatory depends on several factors, including the type of food you are processing or manufacturing, your location, and retailers’ and distributors’ demand. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) require mandatory HACCP implementation as an effective approach to food safety for juice and meat.

While HACCP implementation isn’t universally mandated by law, it’s widely recognized as the standard for ensuring food safety. Several regions make it a compulsory requirement. The European Union, for instance, has strict food safety regulations that mandate HACCP-based food safety management systems for most food businesses. Individual countries within the EU might have additional requirements. Moreover, many large retailers and food service companies require their suppliers to have HACCP plans in place as a prerequisite for doing business.

Similar to HACCP plans, the mandatory nature of HACCP audits depends on the factors mentioned above. In some cases, regulations might mandate regular audits by accredited certification bodies to ensure your HACCP audit plan is effectively implemented and maintained. However, in other situations, audits might be voluntary but still valuable for demonstrating your commitment to food safety and potentially gaining a competitive edge.

HACCP audits can be conducted both internally and externally by third parties, especially if your business is looking to get certified.

HACCP Internal Audits

HACCP internal audits are conducted by your own staff to proactively identify gaps and non-conformances within your food safety management system.

With regular HACCP internal audits, you can:

• Continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your HACCP audit plan.
• Identify areas for improvement and take corrective actions promptly.
• Enhance employee awareness and accountability regarding food safety practices.
• Demonstrate your commitment to food safety to stakeholders and customers.

HACCP External Audits

These audits, on the other hand, are performed by independent third-party auditors to assess whether you comply with industry best practices and food safety standards. The scope of third-party audits may vary depending on the specific regulations and standards applicable to your business.

Some common objectives of external HACCP audits include:

• Verifying compliance with food safety regulations and industry best practices.
• Assessing the effectiveness of your HACCP audit plan in controlling food safety hazards.
• Identifying areas of non-compliance and recommending corrective actions.
• Providing certification or accreditation, demonstrating your commitment to food safety.

How often Should HACCP Audits be Conducted?

However, the HACCP audit frequency is not fixed for all businesses. It will depend on several factors, including the following:

• You have identified new hazards
• There are changes to the process, equipment, or ingredients used
• There was an outbreak of food poisoning, a food recall, or another food safety complaint

Here are the seven principles that underpin an effective HACCP audit plan, and that you will be audited against:

1. Conduct a Hazard Analysis: Start by identifying potential biological, chemical, and physical hazards in your food production process, from farm to fork. Consider the severity and likelihood of each hazard to prioritize them for further control.
2. Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs): Pinpoint the steps in your process where you can prevent, eliminate, or reduce identified hazards to an acceptable level.
3. Establish Critical Limits: Define clear, measurable parameters for each CCP, such as temperature, time, pH, or chlorine level. These limits act as thresholds, indicating when a deviation poses a food safety risk.
4. Establish Monitoring Procedures: Regularly monitor CCPs to ensure they remain within critical limits. This might involve manual checks, automated systems, or a combination of both. HACCP software can streamline monitoring by centralizing data, facilitating real-time tracking, and generating alerts for any deviations. Timely monitoring allows for prompt intervention before deviations escalate.
5. Establish Corrective Actions: Outline pre-determined actions to take if a CCP deviates from its critical limit. These actions should aim to contain the hazard, prevent further contamination, and minimize potential harm to consumers.
6. Verification Procedures: Regularly verify that your HACCP audit plan is functioning effectively. This might involve internal audits, external assessments, or a combination of both. Verification ensures your system remains robust and adaptable to changing circumstances.
7. Maintain Documentation and Records: Document your HACCP plan, including hazard analysis, CCPs, critical limits, monitoring procedures, and corrective actions. Maintain accurate records of monitoring and verification activities. This documentation serves as evidence of your commitment to food safety and facilitates effective training and communication within your organization.

Having understood the importance of HACCP audits in ensuring compliance with food safety standards, let’s dive into a broader concept covering HACCP audits – HACCP certification.

What is a HACCP Certification?

HACCP certification verifies that a food business has implemented a HACCP plan, demonstrating their commitment to food safety and compliance with regulatory requirements. Achieving HACCP certification involves developing a comprehensive HACCP audit plan tailored to your specific operations. This plan is developed in line with the seven principles of HACCP discussed above. The HACCP certification determines you have created, documented, and put into action systems according to the HACCP standards. If you want to get HACCP certification, you’ll need to conduct an HACCP internal audit of your food safety program at least once a year.

HACCP Audits vs HACCP Certification

The table below highlights the differences between different types of HACCP audits certification, and compliance.

	External HACCP Audits	HACCP Internal Audits or HACCP Compliance	HACCP Certification
Purpose	Verify that a food business is following HACCP principles and that the plan is effective	Reduce the risk of foodborne illness and meet regulatory requirements	Demonstrate to customers and regulators that a food business is committed to food safety
Frequency	Typically conducted annually or every two years	Ongoing	Voluntary
Conducted by	Qualified auditor	Food business	Certified body
Outcome	Audit report with findings and recommendations	Documentation of monitoring and corrective action records	Certificate of compliance

Implementing the HACCP Audit Plan: How to Get the HACCP Certification?

Here’s the complete process to get the HACCP certification:

• Understand the requirements of HACCP

Familiarize yourself with the seven HACCP principles established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the joint body of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These principles outline the critical control points where hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels.

• Develop a HACCP audit plan

Once you grasp the fundamentals, it’s time to create a comprehensive HACCP plan, outlining your food safety management system. This plan should be specific to your operations, detailing the hazards you face, the critical control points you’ve identified, and the monitoring procedures you’ll implement.

• Complete HACCP training

Invest in proper HACCP training for your team to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in upholding food safety standards.

• Complete a gap analysis

Conduct a gap analysis with HACCP software to assess your current practices against the requirements of HACCP compliance in food safety, identifying areas for improvement before proceeding with certification.

• Choose a third-party HACCP certification body

Select a reputable third-party certification body accredited by recognized bodies to assess your HACCP system’s effectiveness and compliance with established standards.

• Conduct regular HACCP internal audits

Prepare for a thorough inspection by the chosen certification body. This audit will involve a detailed examination of your HACCP documentation, food safety procedures, and operational practices. Embedding structured checks into your daily food SOPs will help you ensure compliance every single day.

Streamline HACCP Internal Audits & Compliance with GoAudits

With user-friendly software, HACCP compliance can be made much easier. The GoAudits HACCP software is specifically designed for efficient mobile inspections, instant reporting, and analytics. Food businesses use it for efficient internal food safety audits, hygiene, kitchen inspections, restaurant visits, health & safety checks, and much more.

Using GoAudits, food businesses ensure efficient compliance with food standards and prepare certifications for HACCP, BRC, FSSC, ISO, and more.

• Efficient Inspections: Standardized checklists enable up to 5x faster inspections, promoting frequent checks to maintain consistent food safety standards.
• Streamlined Documentation: It eliminates paperwork, allowing easy documentation and swift issue identification. It requires minimal training and allows instant assignment of follow-up actions.
• Customizable Checklists: Tailor checklists to specific needs at no additional cost, ensuring they align perfectly with your requirements.
• Transparency and Insights: Real-time trend reports and drill-down dashboards offer a comprehensive view of issues across all sites, teams, and operations. This enables informed decision-making to improve food standards.

Free Food Safety and Inspection Checklists

You can choose from a range of HACCP audit checklists GoAudits offers.

• HACCP Planning Checklist
• HACCP Audit Checklist
• HACCP Food Safety Checklist
• HACCP-Based SOPs
• HACCP Internal Audit Checklist
• HACCP Plan Self-Assessment Checklist
• HACCP Prerequisite Program Checklist
• BRC Audit Checklist Food Safety Plan – HACCP

Additionally, GoAudits offers a full library of free food safety inspection checklists, including:

• Food Allergen Checklist
• Restaurant Checklists
• ISO 22000 Food Safety Checklist (FSMS)
• Food Hygiene Audit Checklist
• GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Audit
• Food Manufacturing Hygiene Audit
• SQFI Food Manufacturing Audit Checklist
• Hygiene Checklist for Food Industry

Benefits and Impact of HACCP Audits on Your Food Business

Regular HACCP audits are an invaluable investment for any organization involved in food processing, manufacturing, handling, or service. They provide a comprehensive assessment of your food safety practices, helping you identify and address weaknesses, eventually safeguarding your consumers and enhancing your brand reputation.

Here are some major benefits of HACCP audits:

• Enhanced Food Safety: Regular audits identify potential gaps or weaknesses in your HACCP audit plan, allowing for timely corrective actions to prevent food safety incidents. This proactive approach minimizes risks and protects your consumers.
• Increased Customer Confidence: Successfully passing HACCP audits demonstrates your commitment to food safety, fostering trust and confidence among your customers and stakeholders. This can translate into a competitive advantage and brand loyalty.
• Improved Operational Efficiency: HACCP audits often uncover inefficiencies within your food production processes. By addressing these inefficiencies, you can optimize your operations, reduce waste, and potentially cut costs.
• Compliance with Regulations: Many regulatory bodies mandate HACCP implementation and regular audits for food businesses. Successfully passing audits ensures HACCP compliance in the food industry, avoiding potential legal repercussions and fines.
• Proactive Risk Management: HACCP audits shift your focus from reactive problem-solving to proactive risk management. By identifying and addressing potential hazards before they occur, you can prevent foodborne outbreaks and protect your brand reputation.
• Continuous Improvement: HACCP audits provide valuable insights for continuous improvement of your food safety practices. By implementing audit recommendations, you can refine your HACCP plan and achieve even higher levels of food safety.

Challenges and Common Pitfalls in HACCP Audits

HACCP audits can be complex and fraught with challenges. Here, are some common pitfalls to avoid for a successful HACCP internal audit:

• Rushing the process: A thorough hazard analysis is crucial to identify all potential food safety risks. Skipping steps or failing to consider all stages of the food chain can lead to missed hazards and compromised safety.
• Setting the wrong CCPs: Not identifying or defining CCPs effectively can render the HACCP plan useless. Ensure CCPs are clearly established at points where contamination can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels.
• Lack of monitoring: CCPs must be continuously monitored to ensure they remain under control. Inadequate monitoring procedures or failure to record data accurately can hinder corrective action and compromise safety.
• Unpreparedness for deviations: Deviations from CCPs are inevitable. Having unclear or inadequate corrective action plans can delay response and exacerbate food safety risks.
• Incomplete or inaccurate records: HACCP documentation serves as evidence of your system’s effectiveness. Inconsistent or incomplete records can raise doubts during audits and hinder traceability in case of incidents.

GoAudits can help you overcome these challenges, simplify audits, resolve issues efficiently, and provide invaluable insights for elevating food safety standards.