Level 3 HACCP Training for Catering & Retail

This module introduces the idea of food safety management systems and provides definitions for the key terms associated with HACCP. The module looks at why HACCP is important and how it will benefit your food business.

• What is food safety management?
• Key terms
• What is HACCP?
• Benefits of HACCP
• Why is HACCP important?

This module reminds you of the food safety laws that are in place which your food business must comply with, including those related to HACCP and staff training. It also looks at how these laws are enforced, what is meant by a due diligence defence, and alternative food safety management systems that are based on the principles of HACCP.

• Food safety legislation
• Training requirements
• Enforcing the law
• Due diligence
• Should I use HACCP?
• Safer Food, Better Business
• CookSafe
• Safe Catering

This module looks at three of the four main types of contamination: physical, chemical and allergenic. It provides information on each of these, including how contamination can occur and control measures you can take in order to prevent contamination.

• How contamination applies to HACCP
• Physical hazards
• Chemical hazards
• Allergenic hazards

This module focuses on the fourth main type of contamination: microbial. It explains the microbial food safety hazards that are present in your premises and how you can effectively manage them.

• Microbial contamination and prevention
• Pathogenic bacteria
• Toxins & bacterial spores
• Food-borne diseases
• Food spoilage
• Viral contamination
• The top 10 causes of food poisoning
• Low and high-risk foods
• Food preservation
• Bacteria growth - atmosphere

This module explains what is meant by a HACCP prerequisite, and details the first few examples of prerequisites that your food business should have in place before implementing your HACCP system.

• Examples of prerequisites
• Assessing prerequisites
• Employee training
• Potable water
• Approved suppliers
• Pest control and prevention

This module continues explaining what is meant by a HACCP prerequisite, and explains more examples of prerequisites that should be in place before the HACCP system is implemented.

• Supervising personal hygiene & cleaning
• Premises design & waste management
• Stock rotation & food storage
• Packing and food contact materials

This module looks at what needs to be considered when planning to implement a HACCP system, including how to create a HACCP plan. It also introduces the 7 principles of HACCP and details the steps that should be taken before principle 1 can be implemented.

• Preparing for HACCP
• Project management
• Creating a HACCP plan
• HACCP success vs failure
• The 7 principles
• The 12-step process
• Step 1: Creating the HACCP team
• Step 2: Describing the products and ingredients
• Step 3: Identifying the product’s uses and consumers
• Step 4: Constructing a flow chart
• Step 5: Confirming the flow chart in the premises

This module looks at the first HACCP principle and outlines the 3-step approach to hazard analysis to help you learn how to identify the significant hazards in your workplace that need to be controlled within the HACCP system.

• What is hazard analysis?
• The 3-step approach
• Hazard analysis documentation
• Conducting a hazard analysis
• Prerequisites or HACCP?
• Useful contacts
• Claims

This module explains how to determine when a significant hazard in your food business becomes a critical control point that needs immediate attention should something go wrong. It also outlines how to use a decision tree to help you make this judgement.

• What is a control measure?
• What is a critical control point?
• Overusing CPPs
• Decision trees
• The Codex Alimentarius decision tree
• Cooking instructions

This module looks at what to consider when setting critical limits for your identified critical control points in order to ensure that the potential hazards remain under control.

• What is a critical limit? 
• Critical limit criteria 
• Examples of critical limits 
• Setting critical limits

This module explains why it’s necessary to keep an eye on the food safety hazards and closely monitor your critical control points. It also outlines the different methods for monitoring and looks at what should be included in monitoring documentation.

• What is monitoring?
• Effective monitoring
• Calibration
• Frequency of monitoring
• The monitoring plan

This module looks at the corrective action procedures your business should implement so that you can quickly and effectively deal with any contaminated food products.

• What is corrective action?
• Corrective action procedures
• Product recalls
• Types of recalls
• The 10 steps of recall
• Root cause analysis
• The 5 whys

This module outlines why it’s important to regularly review the HACCP plan and verify that the HACCP system continues to work effectively. It also looks at some of the key techniques used when validating, verifying, reviewing and auditing the HACCP system.

• Why is verification important?
• Validation
• Verification
• Reviewing the HACCP plan
• Benefits of reviewing HACCP
• Verifying the effectiveness of corrective action
• Internal auditing

This module looks at the final principle of HACCP and explains the necessity of keeping accurate and regular records, as well as the importance of keeping the HACCP team well trained and up to date.

• Record keeping and maintaining documentation
• Summary of documentation for the 7 principles
• Maintaining the HACCP team
• Data analysis
• Complaints management
• The importance of traceability
• One step forward, one step back

This final module of the course provides guidance on how to implement the HACCP system across the whole workplace and ensure it becomes a fundamental part of your food production processes. This includes ensuring staff members are educated and aware of their roles and responsibilities. 

• Implementing HACCP 
• Implementation methods 
• HACCP training 
• Making HACCP visible 
• Confirming completion

This module contains links to each of the resources included throughout the course that you can download and use in your own business or access to learn more information about the topics included.

• Downloadable resources
• Further training
• Further reading