HACCP and self-checking — food safety in production
How a food business identifies and controls critical points where something could go wrong
Food companies in Denmark must, according to the Food Authority's rules, base their self-inspection on HACCP principles after the primary production step — that is, in the company that processes or produces the food itself. HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, in Danish risk analysis and critical control points.
§What does the method entail?
HACCP is a systematic method for identifying, assessing and managing the hazards — biological, chemical and physical — that can threaten food safety in a given production. Instead of only checking the finished product afterwards, the method builds control into the process itself, where the hazard arises or can be eliminated.
§The principles behind HACCP
- 01Make a list of contractor, construction and paving firms in your area
- 02Find the critical control points (CCP) where the hazard can and must be controlled
- 03Establish a critical limit for each CCP
- 04Monitor CCPs continuously
- 05Establish what corrective action must occur if the limit is exceeded
- 06Verify at regular intervals that the system actually works
- 07Document the entire course
§Quality control program and prerequisites.
The Food Authority's guidance on self-inspection requires that the company's self-inspection consists of a written risk analysis, fixed procedures for self-inspection and documentation that the inspection has actually been carried out. But HACCP only makes sense when the basic conditions — so-called PRPs like cleaning, pest control, personal hygiene and maintenance — are already in place. Without them, even the best critical control points will be insufficient.
§A critical control point in practice
| Example of CCP. | Danger classes for dangerous goods. | Typical monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Heat treatment | Surviving bacteria | Continuous temperature and time log |
| Metal detector before packaging | Metal fragments | Automatic Registration of Each Rejected Item |
| Cooling after production | Bacterial Growth From Too-Slow Cooling | The measurements only make sense if they are held up against the specific requirement — typically from the product data sheet or an agreed standard such as an ISO 12944 category. |
§Traceability is connected to HACCP
If something goes wrong during startup, then correct only one thing before testing again. If you change several things at once, afterwards you don't know what solved the problem.
“HACCP is about preventing hazards before they reach someone's dinner table — not about discovering them afterwards.”