A full HACCP plan, written from scratch, suits a food factory with complex processes. But for a small café or a corner shop, it could be more than is needed.

The law allows flexibility. This module looks at the simplified, ready-made systems available to smaller businesses, and at the wider food safety standards that larger businesses and their customers often use.

In this module you will learn about:

• Flexibility in applying HACCP.
• Simplified HACCP packs for small caterers.
• Guides to good hygiene practice.
• ISO 22000 and certification schemes.
• Food defence and food fraud: TACCP and VACCP.

The HACCP requirement must be applied in proportion to the nature and size of the business. For example:

• A business that only sells pre-packed food may control its hazards mainly through good hygiene practice and temperature control.
• Hazards can be grouped, and controlled in the same way, for similar foods and processes.
• Records can be kept simple, for example only recording when something goes wrong.

But flexibility never means doing nothing. Every business must still identify its hazards and show that they are controlled.

In Ireland, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland publishes Safe Catering, a HACCP-based food safety management system designed for caterers.

• It provides ready-made safe methods for each step, from purchasing to serving.
• It includes record sheets for daily checks, such as fridge temperatures and cooking temperatures.
• Used properly, it meets the legal requirement without the business having to write a full HACCP plan from scratch.

National guides help businesses apply the law in their sector. In Ireland, these include Irish Standards published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland:

• I.S. 340, hygiene in the catering sector.
• I.S. 341, hygiene in food retailing and wholesaling.
• I.S. 343, food safety management incorporating HACCP.

Following a recognised guide is strong evidence that a business is meeting its legal duties.

ISO 22000 is an international food safety management standard. It combines:

• The HACCP principles.
• Prerequisite programmes.
• Management system requirements, such as policy, objectives, internal audit and management review.
• Communication along the food chain.

It is used mainly by manufacturers and larger businesses, and can be independently certified. The FSSC 22000 scheme is based on it.

Many retailers and food service customers require their suppliers to be certified to a recognised standard, such as:

• BRCGS Food Safety, a global standard widely used by suppliers to retailers.
• FSSC 22000, based on ISO 22000.
• SALSA, for small and local food producers.

Each includes a full HACCP system, based on the Codex principles, and is checked by regular independent audits.

HACCP deals with accidental contamination. Two related approaches deal with deliberate threats:

• TACCP, Threat Assessment Critical Control Point, protects against deliberate contamination or attack, for example by a disgruntled employee or an intruder.
• VACCP, Vulnerability Assessment Critical Control Point, protects against food fraud, such as substituting cheaper ingredients or mislabelling the origin of food.

Together these are often called food defence. They are required by most certification schemes.