HACCP food hygiene is two things that belong in one system. HACCP is the plan: the hazards at each process step and the critical control points where they are controlled, with limits, monitoring and records. Food hygiene is the set of routines that stop the environment creating hazards in the first place: cleaning, personal hygiene, pest control, temperature control of storage, waste. The gov.uk guidance for food businesses, cited below, says a food safety management system must meet the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles, and describes critical control points as the points when you need to prevent, remove or reduce a hazard in your work process. The HACCP plan template on this site prints the plan; the audit checklist walks the hygiene routines; both free.
What HACCP controls
The points where a hazard is prevented, removed or reduced: cooking to the standard, cooling within the time, reheating, holding hot and cold, separating allergens. The same guidance gives the cooking standard as 70°C for 2 minutes, or the equivalents it lists, 75°C for 30 seconds among them. Each has a limit and a record. The hot food temperature check on this site is the cooking record.
What hygiene prevents
Cross-contamination from surfaces, hands and cloths; pests; dirt in the structure; poor storage. These are the prerequisite programmes a HACCP plan assumes are in place, and the inspector's first two scoring areas, hygienic handling and the premises, are where they are judged.
One system, one set of records
The temperature records from the plan, the cleaning schedule and its sign-offs, the pest control visits, the training, the allergen matrix, the traceability. Kept together, they are the management of food safety the inspector scores as the third area. The Food Standards Agency's cooking-your-food guidance, cited below, gives the danger zone as between 8 and 63°C, where bacterial growth occurs, and says leftovers must be cooled and put in the fridge within two hours and eaten within 48 hours.
Keeping both current
A menu change revises the plan; a new piece of equipment revises the cleaning schedule; a new starter needs the training record. ProbeLedger Pro keeps the plan and the routines with their records; the free tools print each. FoodDocs lists its Lite plan at $99 per site per month billed monthly or $79 billed annually, and its Standard plan at $199 per site per month, with a free 14-day trial, on its pricing page cited below. ProbeLedger Pro is $49 per month for the whole site.
Questions people ask about haccp food hygiene
Is a food hygiene certificate the same as HACCP?
A hygiene certificate shows a person was trained; HACCP is the kitchen's plan. The inspector looks for both.
Which comes first?
The hygiene routines are the foundation the plan stands on; both are written into the system.
Is the template free?
Yes, without an account.