Integrated programme
HACCP and GMP together: the prerequisites and the plan, built as one: video
A film on building good manufacturing practice and a HACCP food safety plan together, so the prerequisites and the plan form one food safety system.
Key takeaways
- GMP covers general hygiene and manufacturing conditions; HACCP controls product and process hazards.
- GMP comes first, and HACCP builds on it.
- Supervisors keep prerequisite programme records every day.
- A mock recall tests traceability in both directions.
- The same foundations support GFSI-recognised schemes later.
The foundation and the plan
Good manufacturing practice is the foundation every food business needs: the general hygiene and manufacturing conditions that apply to every product, such as premises, cleaning, pest control and personal hygiene. HACCP is the plan that analyses the hazards of each product and process and controls the significant ones at critical control points. GMP comes first, and HACCP builds on it.
Built separately, the two often end up in different binders with different owners. This short film walks through how they are built together, so the records show one food safety system rather than two.
Building the two together means the people who keep the hygiene records and the people who monitor critical control points work from one set of procedures.
GMP and HACCP also form the base of the larger food safety schemes, so getting them right first saves rework later.
From the site walk to a tested mock recall
Work begins on the factory floor rather than in a document template: the products, processes and sites are confirmed along with the certificate buyers ask for, and current hygiene practice, records and any existing certificates are reviewed against HACCP and GMP. Written prerequisite programmes are put in place with records supervisors keep every day, and the HACCP study then sets critical control points with limits, monitoring and corrective actions that work on the line.
Traceability is tested, not assumed: a mock recall shows whether ingredients and products can be traced both ways. Internal checks and verification follow before a certification body audits the system. Whether HACCP and GMP certification is accredited varies by country and certification body, so that is confirmed against what buyers accept. The same foundations support ISO 22000, FSSC 22000 or BRCGS when buyers ask for a GFSI-recognised scheme.
The engagement is led by a single consultant who builds the prerequisites and the HACCP study together in Effivity, under one fee fixed at the outset. Audits and certification decisions remain with the certification body.
HACCP at a glance
- Purpose
- Preventive food safety: the hazards at each process step identified, the CCPs determined, and their limits validated, monitored and corrected, on a foundation of good hygiene practices
- Relevant to
- Any food business, from processing onwards in particular: manufacturers and processors, caterers, packers, storage and transport, retail and food service, and their ingredient and packaging suppliers
- Edition
- Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, CXC 1-1969: adopted 1969, revised 2020 and again in 2022, when a decision tree and worksheet for determining CCPs were added; seven principles, twelve steps
- Certification
- Issued by an independent certification body against the HACCP document it names, Codex-based or a national standard; HACCP is also audited inside every ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 certification
- Sterling's role
- Hygiene practices, the HACCP study and plan built with your team, Effivity, training, internal audit and certification readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for a HACCP system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 3 to 6 months
HACCP: questions people ask
Is HACCP certification mandatory?
HACCP-based procedures are a legal requirement in many jurisdictions, for example for food business operators after primary production in the European Union and for meat, poultry, seafood and juice processors in the United States; certification is not. A certificate is a voluntary, independent confirmation that the plan exists and works, asked for by customers and importers rather than by the law.
What is the difference between HACCP and ISO 22000?
HACCP is the Codex method, its seven principles and the plan they produce, on a foundation of good hygiene practices. ISO 22000 is a certifiable management system standard that contains those principles and adds what a plan alone lacks: context and leadership, objectives, documented information, traceability, emergency preparedness, internal audit, management review and improvement. A HACCP certificate confirms the plan; ISO 22000 certifies the system around it.
Who issues a HACCP certificate, and against what?
An independent certification body issues it after auditing your system against a specified document, which the certificate names: a Codex-based HACCP scheme operated by the body, or a national HACCP standard where one exists. Codex itself runs no certification scheme and issues no certificates. Ask which document the body certifies against and whether the certificate is issued under accreditation; both affect what a customer will accept.
Is a HACCP certificate GFSI-recognised?
No. GFSI recognises certification programmes it has benchmarked, and a HACCP certificate on its own is not one of them. If a retailer or export customer asks for GFSI recognition, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF or IFS is the route, and each contains HACCP, so the work already done is reused.
How many CCPs should a plan have?
As many as the hazard analysis justifies, and no more. A CCP is a step at which control is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a significant hazard to an acceptable level; Codex provides a decision tree and worksheet to decide whether that applies. Most plants end up with a small number of CCPs and control the remaining hazards through the hygiene practices.
Keep exploring
Related to this video
The complete guide
Everything on HACCP
Start with the HACCP page · GMP (PIC/S, EU, WHO), or go straight to the guide you need.
On the HACCP page
Guides
- HACCP certification cost
- The HACCP certification process, step by step
- Effivity HACCP guide
- HACCP vs ISO 22000 vs FSSC 22000
- HACCP hazard analysis and the CCP decision tree
- HACCP internal audit and verification
- HACCP prerequisite programmes and good hygiene practices
- HACCP requirements explained
- HACCP training
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