Not every step in a process is critical. Principle 2 is about finding the steps where control is essential, so that monitoring and records can be concentrated where they matter most.

In this module you will learn what a critical control point is, how to identify one using the Codex decision tree, and what typical critical control points look like.

A critical control point, or CCP, is a step at which control is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard, or reduce it to a safe level.

It is often the last step at which the hazard can be prevented or reduced to a safe level. If control is lost there, nothing later in the process will put it right, and unsafe food could reach the customer.

Cooking raw chicken is a classic example. No later step will destroy bacteria that survive undercooking.

Many steps have controls, but only some are critical.

• A control point is a step where a hazard can be controlled, but where a later step will also control it, or where prerequisites are enough.
• A critical control point is a step where control is essential, and there is no later step to rely on.

For example, washing raw vegetables that will later be cooked is a control point. Cooking them is where the critical control happens.

The Codex decision tree is a series of questions that helps the team decide whether a step is a CCP, for each significant hazard:

• Do control measures exist at this step?
• Is this step specifically designed to eliminate the hazard, or reduce it to a safe level?
• Could contamination occur, or increase to an unsafe level, at this step?
• Will a later step eliminate the hazard, or reduce it to a safe level?

The answers lead to a clear, recorded decision. Other methods can be used, as long as they are logical and recorded.

In catering, the critical control points are often:

• Cooking, to destroy harmful bacteria.
• Cooling, to stop spores germinating and bacteria growing.
• Chilled storage, to keep high-risk food out of the danger zone.
• Reheating, to destroy bacteria that may have grown since cooking.
• Hot holding, to stop bacteria growing before service.

In food manufacturing, the critical control points may include:

• Pasteurisation or sterilisation, for example of milk or canned food.
• Acidification, drying or curing, where they make a product safe.
• Metal detection or X-ray, as the final check for foreign bodies.
• Checking that the correct allergen label is on the correct product.

A good HACCP plan has as few CCPs as possible, but never fewer than are needed. Too many CCPs dilute attention from what is really critical.