HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, APPCC in Spanish: Análisis de Peligros y Puntos de Control Crítico) is the system by which a food business identifies the hazards that could make the food it prepares unsafe, decides at which points to control them and keeps records to show that it does. It is mandatory for anyone who prepares and serves food, and a caterer is no exception.
What HACCP is
More than a certificate hanging on the wall, it is a way of working. The idea is simple. Rather than relying on checking the plate at the end, you go through the whole process, from the moment the ingredients come in until the food is served, to know where something could go wrong, how you would spot it and who is keeping an eye on it.
What Regulation 852/2004 requires
Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, on the hygiene of foodstuffs, says that food business operators “shall put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles”. It applies to all stages after primary production, that is, not to farmers and livestock keepers in their primary activity. If the product or the process changes, the procedure is reviewed.
The regulation asks for flexibility. Its recitals acknowledge that in some businesses it is not possible to identify critical control points, that sometimes good hygiene practices can replace that monitoring and that the obligation to keep documents should not be an excessive burden on very small businesses.
The seven HACCP principles
- Identify any hazard that must be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels.
- Identify the critical control points, the steps at which control is essential.
- Establish critical limits at those points that separate the acceptable from the unacceptable.
- Establish and implement effective monitoring of those points.
- Establish corrective actions for when monitoring indicates that a point is not under control.
- Verify regularly that all of the above works.
- Draw up documents and records commensurate with the nature and size of the business.
Food handlers: what the rules require
A food handler (manipulador de alimentos) is anyone who, through their work, is in direct contact with food. What the rules say:
- The business guarantees the training. Annex II, Chapter XII, of Regulation 852/2004 requires the business to ensure that food handlers are supervised and instructed or trained in food hygiene in line with their work activity, and that those who run the procedure have adequate HACCP training.
- The food handler’s card no longer exists as such. Royal Decree 109/2010 of 5 February repealed Royal Decree 202/2000, which regulated food handlers, and moved responsibility for training from the authorities to the businesses. At inspection, the business has to show that its staff are trained for what they do. The Balearic health authority sums it up well: “there is no longer a ‘food handler’s card’ as such”.
- Personal hygiene. Chapter VIII of the same annex requires cleanliness, suitable and clean clothing, and that anyone suffering from a disease transmissible through food, or with infected wounds, for example, does not handle food where there is a risk of contaminating it.
HACCP in catering
A caterer works away from its own kitchen, and that complicates the system: the hazards change when food is transported, set out and served somewhere else. The points that need the closest watch are:
| Point | Why it matters at an event |
|---|---|
| Temperature | The cold chain and keeping food hot during the journey and service |
| Cross-contamination | Raw and cooked food, and dishes for people with allergens |
| Hygiene | Hands, clothing, utensils and surfaces in a temporary set-up |
| Time | How long passes between a dish being finished and being served |
If you hire a caterer, it is perfectly reasonable to ask how they handle these points. For our daily contract catering service, this is how we put it: we cook every day and deliver at the agreed time, with temperature control during transport.
The allergen information given to the customer is governed by another rule, Regulation 1169/2011.