The compliance challenge
Generic templates rarely survive contact with an auditor. Plans downloaded or inherited from another site typically describe processes that do not exist, omit hazards that do, and cannot be evidenced by the records the site actually keeps.
Businesses also need their plan to satisfy several audiences at once: the Food Standards Code, a certification standard such as BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or SQF, and customer-specific requirements.
About this service
A food safety plan is developed from your products and processes, not from a template. Work begins with a scope review and process mapping, then moves through hazard analysis, control measure determination and the monitoring, corrective action and verification activities that make the plan operational.
The finished plan is supported by the forms, registers and work instructions needed to run it, and is implemented with the people responsible for monitoring so it holds up under audit and in daily production.
Scope of support
- Business and product scope review
- Process mapping and on-site flow verification
- Product descriptions and intended use, including vulnerable consumer groups
- Hazard identification and analysis (biological, chemical, physical, allergen, radiological where relevant)
- Control measure selection and justification
- CCP and OPRP determination where relevant to the standard applied
- Critical limits and operating limits
- Monitoring procedures, frequencies and responsibilities
- Corrective action and product disposition procedures
- Verification procedures and verification scheduling
- Validation of control measures and supporting evidence
- Record keeping, forms and registers
- Supporting prerequisite programmes
- Document implementation, training and scheduled review
How the consultancy works
- 1
Scope definition
Confirm sites, products, processes and the standard or regulation the plan must satisfy.
- 2
Process mapping
Build accurate flow diagrams from raw material receipt to dispatch, verified on site.
- 3
Hazard analysis
Identify and assess hazards at each step, with justification for significance decisions.
- 4
Control determination
Determine CCPs, OPRPs and prerequisite controls, with critical limits and monitoring.
- 5
Documentation
Produce the plan, procedures, forms and registers in a format your team can use.
- 6
Validation and implementation
Assemble validation evidence, train users and trial the records in production.
- 7
Verification and review
Verify the plan is working, and set the triggers and frequency for future review.
Relevant standards
- Codex Alimentarius General Principles of Food Hygiene and HACCP annex
- Food Standards Code Standard 3.2.1 Food Safety Programs (where applicable)
- BRCGS, FSSC 22000 and SQF food safety plan requirements
- Customer and retailer specific plan requirements
Who this suits
- New food manufacturing sites and new process lines
- Businesses with an outdated or template-based plan
- Sites preparing for a first certification audit
- Businesses required by a customer or regulator to hold a documented plan
- Importers and brand owners needing plans for contract-manufactured products
Compliance and operational benefits
- A plan that accurately reflects the process and can be evidenced
- Defensible hazard analysis with documented justification
- Clear monitoring responsibilities that operators understand
- Validation evidence assembled before the audit, not during it
- A structured review cycle so the plan stays current