How to Implement a Food Safety Plan

Introduction

Recently, a number of foodborne illnesses occurred worldwide have aroused the

concern and anxiety of the public about food safety. Most of these foodborne
illnesses are caused by mishandling or improper preparation/ storage of food by
food handlers (Appendix 1). In order to ensure food safety and prevent food
poisoning, all food businesses including food service organizations should comply
with the existing food regulations as well as prepare their own Food Safety Plan
(FSP) based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
system.

HACCP adopts a proactive approach to anticipate the occurrence of potential

problems during the food production process and to implement measures
designed to prevent the occurrence of these problems.

HACCP system has been adopted worldwide by many food manufacturing

companies. However, a "classical" HACCP system is generally considered not
feasible in the food service organizations due to the multiplicity of food products,
lack of standardized methods, lack of systematic production planning as well as
lack of expertise to develop the system. This document contains an FSP based on
the principles of HACCP in order to assist managers of food service organizations
to tackle the above problems and ensure food safety, including

1. an outline of the stages involved in developing an FSP;

2. a list of potential problems that may occur during food production in catering
operations; and
3. a list of control measures that can be applied generally to most catering
operations and advices on when and how these control measures can be applied

What is a Food Safety Plan?

An FSP is designed to identify and prevent possible food safety problems (hazards)
in order to enhance food safety. The problems may relate to the purchase,
receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, packaging, transport or display of food.

There are six elements in an FSP:

1. List food safety problems (hazards) at each step of the food processing (e.g.
purchase and receiving of food)
2. Identify preventive measures and their control limits
3. Establish monitoring procedures
4. Establish corrective actions
5. Keep records
6. Check and review
Appropriate implementation of the above elements, together with the application
of some basic practices (e.g. cleaning and sanitation, personal hygiene, pest
control, waste disposal and staff training), will certainly prevent food safety
problems during the food production

How to implement a Food Safety Plan?

Stage 1 Planning

Preliminary planning and preparation will be essential before developing your FSP.
A coordinator for developing an FSP should be appointed and adequate
authorities and resources should also be provided. The coordinator must have
basic knowledge of food safety and must be familiar with the properties of food as
well as its processing procedures.

Staff should be made aware of the changes and benefits that will result from the
introduction of the FSP. The FSP will only work if each staff member knows their
role in the plan, and is committed to making it work. To reduce the anxiety of staff,
the FSP should be introduced in phases over a period of time. For example, the FSP
could be introduced initially for just the first step of the catering operation (i.e.
purchase of raw materials), making sure that the first step is working properly
before moving onto the next step.
Stage 2 Draw a flow diagram

A flow diagram should be drawn showing each step in the operation, from
purchase of raw materials to serving food to consumers. The flow diagram shown
here is a generic example for a catering operation which should be tailored to each
individual operation. Each of the steps of the operation can be considered a control
point to prevent food safety problems.

* Note: "Display" is applicable to businesses providing buffets.

 Stage 3 Develop a Food Safety Plan

Step 1 List hazards

A hazard is anything that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption
(Appendix 2). Use your flow diagram to identify all the hazards (food safety
problems) associated with each step.

Examples of problems:

I. Raw materials contain harmful micro-organisms (e.g. raw oysters contaminated

with Norwalk-like virus and raw eggs contaminated with Salmonella)
II. Harmful micro-organisms grow and produce toxin during processing
III. Harmful micro-organisms or toxins survive after heating
IV. Food contains harmful chemicals (e.g. ciguatoxin in coral reef fish)
V. Food contains extraneous physical objects (e.g. metal, glass fragments)
Of these, harmful micro-organisms as well as toxins produced by them are likely to
be the most important problems that cause foodborne illnesses.

Step 2 Identify preventive measures and their control limits

List the measures and the control limits that can be used to control the identified
problems (i.e. those identified at step 1) at each step of the catering operation. A
control limit is a value or measurement (such as temperature or acidity) that must
be met to ensure safety of the product.

Examples of preventive measures and their control limits are:

 Preventive measures Control limits

I. Using reputable suppliers Products bought from approved / licensed and reputable suppliers

II. Adequate freezing or chilling Frozen / chilled foods should be stored at -18°C / 4°C or below

III. Using proper ways to thaw Frozen foods should be thawed under/in
frozen foods
 refrigeration at 4°C or below

 cool running water in waterproof package

 a microwave oven

IV. Cooking thoroughly During cooking the core food temperature should reach 75°C or above for at least 30
seconds

V. Proper cooling Cooked foods should be cooled from 60°C to 20°C in two hours and then to 4°C or
below in the next four hours
Step 3 Establish monitoring procedures

The monitoring of control limits will ensure that any loss of control (i.e. deviation from control limits) can be identified so that corrective actions can be
taken before the product becomes unsafe. The methods used should be kept as simple as possible.

Examples of monitoring procedures include:

 I. Cooking temperature and time measurements
II. Visual observation of "use by" date and stock rotation
III. Visual observation of cleanliness of equipment and work surface
IV. Visual inspection of incoming food ingredients
Simple and clear work instructions for the control and monitoring procedures should be developed for staff to refer to:

I. What is to be checked? (e.g. the cooking temperature)

II. How is it checked? (e.g. use thermometer to measure temperature)
III. When is it checked? (e.g. measure once every half hour)
IV. Who does the check? (e.g. chef assistants)
Step 4 Establish corrective actions

If monitoring procedures reveal loss of control, corrective actions must be taken immediately. Examples of corrective actions:

I. Reheat the food until its core temperature reaches 75°C or above for at least 30 seconds if the cooking temperature is inadequate.
II. Adjust or repair the chiller if its temperature is higher than 4oC.
III. Clean the equipment again if it is dirty.

Step 5 Keep records

Maintenance of monitoring records (e.g. temperature records of the freezer) helps evaluate whether preventive measures are adequate and efficient. You
can make reference to the record sheets shown in Appendices 3 to 17 and choose the ones that are suitable for you to record the monitoring results.
Step 6 Check and review

In order to ensure that your FSP works properly, you should perform a systematic check periodically (e.g. once a week). An example of an FSP checklist is
provided in Appendix 18 to assist you to develop your own inspection checklist. The checklist may help you determine areas in your operation requiring
attention and improvement. In addition, you should also review your FSP at least once a year because your operation or products may change.

Back to Contents

Examples of application of Food Safety Plan

Following are examples of possible problems and their controls for each step in the food service operation:

Step: Purchase

Hazards Control Monitoring Procedures* Corrective Records

Limits Actions

What How When Who

Raw Raw Evidence Inspect Once a Purchasin Avoid Record of

 materials materials showing that suppliers' year and g manager unqualified approved
contaminate obtained suppliers premises before suppliers and
d with from follow good and check renewing unqualified
approve manufacturin their contracts suppliers
d/ g practices monitoring with (Appendices
 Food licensed records suppliers 5 and 6)
poisoning and
bacteria reputabl
e
 Toxins
suppliers
 Chemicals
such as
pesticides

 Glass, metal,
etc

Suppliers' Check Before Purchasin Avoid

records on records renewing g manager unqualified
customer contracts suppliers
complaints with
suppliers

Establish products' safety Requirements Check Before Purchasin Avoid Purchasing

and quality specifications mentioned in product purchasin g manager ordering record form
with suppliers (including product specificatio g substandar (Appendix
delivery temperature of specification n d foods 7) and
perishable foods) product
specificatio
n
* Monitoring procedures (e.g. frequency of monitoring) should be tailor-made to suit your own operation.
Step: Receiving

Raw materials or ingredients must be checked against the specifications on deliveries. Depending upon the degree of risk they present, some food or raw
ingredients will need to be checked more frequently.

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Damaged Packaging is Integrity of Visual Receiving Receiver Reject raw Records of

packaging and intact and has packaging and checking raw materials and incoming food
contamination no visible signs of materials inform suppliers and supplies
with foreign foreign matter contamination (Appendices
matter (including 8,9 and 10)
food poisoning Delivery Hygienic Visual Receiving Receiver Reject raw
bacteria) vehicles are condition of checking raw materials and
clean and vehicles and materials inform suppliers
hygienic and are evidence of the
not used for the vehicle being
transport of used to transport
chemicals chemicals

Presence and No sign of General Check the Receiving Receiver Reject raw
growth of food deterioration of conditions of raw appearance of raw materials and
poisoning raw materials materials raw materials materials inform suppliers
bacteria during (e.g. appearance (ie. colour,
delivery and odour, etc.) smell, texture,
etc.)

Not exceeding Expiry date of Check the Receiving Receiver Reject raw
the expiry date raw materials labels raw materials and
of raw materials materials inform suppliers
("use by" or
"best before"
date)

Temperature of Temperature of Use Receiving Receiver Reject raw

raw materials on raw materials / thermometer raw materials and
arrival: 4℃ or Appearance of and check the materials inform suppliers
below (chilled food appearance of
foods) / entirely food
frozen (frozen
foods)

Store chilled / Procedures for Visual Receiving Store  Review the

frozen foods at receiving and checking raw keeper procedures for
4℃/-18℃ or storing food materials receiving food to
below ensure that food
immediately should be stored
after receiving within specified
(e.g. within ten time
minutes)  Discard chilled/
frozen foods if
placing at
ambient
temperature for
too long (e.g.
chilled foods have
been placed at
ambient
temperature for
more than four
 hours)
Step: Dry storage

Dry storage includes the storage of some kinds of fruits and vegetables, dried foods (e.g. cereals and seasonings) and canned or bottled foods.

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Actions Records

What How When Who

Cross- Group and store Storage Visual Storing / Store  Store food in
contamination food according conditions checking taking food keeper appropriate
to their ingredients containers and
properties and reorganize layout to
store food in separate different
appropriate food types
containers
 Discard
contaminated food

Packaging is General Visual Storing / Store  Re-wrap the food

intact and has no conditions checking taking food keeper
visible foreign of food ingredients  Discard
matter contaminated food

Keep storage Hygienic Visual Before off- Assistant Clean the storage
area dry and condition of checking duty manager area immediately
clean storage area

Cleaning Check Before off- Assistant Remind staff to Cleaning

 records records duty manager clean storage area records
according to the (Appendix 13)
schedule

Storage area is Signs of Visual Weekly Assistant Use proper Pest control
not infested with pests checking manager methods (e.g. monitoring and
pests rodent traps) to inspection
capture and kill records
pests where there (Appendices 14
are signs of pests or and 15)
employ a pest
control company

Growth of Use first-in- Date codes / Check Daily Store Discard food if its Stock records
food poisoning first-out (FIFO) marks (e.g. date keeper expiry date is
bacteria rotation (Use expiry date / codes / passed or it has no
date codes or receiving marks date codes / marks
marks to show date)
the time
sequence of
food storage)
Step: Refrigerated storage

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Cross- Cover/ wrap all Storage Visual Storing / Store  Cover/wrap the
contamination food and store condition checking taking food keeper food
(e.g. cooked food cooked and raw ingredients
contaminated by food separately
raw food)  Reorganize
layout to separate
different food
types (e.g. Store
cooked and raw
foods separately)

Keep storage Hygienic Visual Storing / Store Clean the storage

area clean condition of checking taking food keeper area immediately
storage area ingredients

Growth of food Storage Temperature Use Three times a Store  Adjust Temperature
poisoning temperature at of the chiller thermometer day (in the keeper temperature or record sheet
bacteria and 4C or below morning, at repair chiller for chiller
formation of noon and where (Appendix 9)
toxins before off- appropriate
duties)  Discard affected
food

Storage area with Storage Visual Storing / Chef Reorganise

good air conditions checking taking food assistant layout
circulation ingredients

Use first-in-first- Date codes / Check date Daily Chef Discard food if Stock records
out (FIFO) marks (e.g. codes / assistant its expiry date is
rotation (Use expiry date / marks passed or it has
date codes or receiving date) no date codes /
marks to show marks
the time
sequence of food
storage)
Step: Frozen storage

Hazards Control Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Limits Actions
What How When Who

Growth of Temperature Temperature Use Three times a Store Adjust Temperature

food of freezer at - of freezer thermometer day (in the keeper temperature or record sheet for
poisoning 18 C or below morning, at repair freezer freezer
bacteria noon and where (Appendix 11)
before off- appropriate
duties)

Storage area Storage Visual Storing / taking Store Reorganise

with good air condition checking food keeper layout
circulation ingredients
Step: Preparation

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Cross- Use appropriate Utensils and Visual During Chef  Clean the utensils Corrective
contamination methods (e.g. cutting boards checking working assistant and put them back action record
color code) to to the appropriate sheet (if
distinguish the location taken)
utensils and  Retrain the staff (Appendix
cutting boards for 12)
handling ready-to-
 eat foods from raw
foods.

Ready-to-eat fruits Procedures of Visual During Chef Discard

and vegetables are washing fruits and checking working assistant contaminated
clean and hygienic vegetables ready-to-eat fruits
and vegetables

Growth of food Frozen foods to be Methods of Visual During Chef  Adjust the
poisoning thawed under / in thawing (e.g. checking working thawing
bacteria and thawing temperature to
formation of temperature, food 4℃ or below
toxin  refrigeration at is packed in
4°C or below waterproof  Discard
 cool running water package, water is contaminated
in waterproof cool and running food
package while thawing)  Retrain the staff
 a microwave oven

Frozen foods are Condition of the Touching Before Chef Thaw the food
adequately thawed thawed foods and visual cooking assistant under suitable
(no hardening with checking condition further
ice) before
cooking

Maximum time for Length of time Visual During Chef  Control the
holding thawed holding perishable checking working assistant processing
foods and cold foods at above 4oC procedures so as
perishable foods at in food to shorten the
above 4℃is four preparation area time in which
hours perishable food is
 held above 4℃
 Discard
perishable foods
that have been
held above
4℃ for more than
four hours
Step: Cooking

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Survival of Core food Core food Use Each Chef Continue Temperature
food poisoning temperature temperature thermometer batch cooking food to record sheet
bacteria and reaches 75°C or required
bacteria spores above for at least temperature
30 seconds

 Minced meat is Condition of Visual Each Chef Continue

brown inside food during checking batch cooking food
and after until thoroughly
 Poultry juices run cooking cooked
clear
 Fish flakes with a
fork
Step: Cooling
Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records
Actions
What How When Who

Cross- Food is protected Cooling Visual During Chef  Eliminate the

contamination from contamination environment checking working assistant possible sources of
during cooling (whether there is contamination
any source of
contamination)  Discard
contaminated food

Containers are clean Cleanliness of Visual Before Chef Clean and sanitise
and hygienic containers checking use assistant the containers

Growth of food Containers less than Height of Visual Before Chef Use shallow
poisoning five cm/ two inches containers checking use assistant containers
bacteria and high
formation of
toxin Cool to 4℃ or below Cooing time and Use timer Every Chef  Cool food by - Temperature
in six hours (Cool temperature of and hour assistant record sheet
from 60℃ to 20℃ in foods thermometer  dividing into small
two hours and then to portions
4℃ or below in the
next four hours)  placing containers
in ice water bath

 stirring frequently
 Discard product if
temperature is still
above 4℃ after
six hours of
cooling
Step: Reheating

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Survival of Heat food to a core Core food Use Each Chef Continue Temperature
food temperature 75°C or temperature thermometer batch reheating food to record sheet
poisoning above for at least 30 required
bacteria seconds temperature
Step: Hot holding

Hazards Control Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Limits Actions
What How When Who

Cross- Cover / Storage Visual During Chef  Cover / wrap the

contamination wrap all conditions checking working assistant food 
food
 Discard
contaminated food

Growth of food Keep Temperature of Use Every Chef  Adjust hot holding Temperature
poisoning bacteria food food in holding thermometer two assistant apparatus to keep record sheet
and formation of above containers hours food above 60℃ (Appendix 11)
toxin 60°C
 Discard food if it is
held at 60°C or
below for more
 than four hours
Step: Display (applicable to businesses providing buffets)

Hazards Control Monitoring Procedures Corrective Actions Records

Limits
What How When Who

Cross- Display ready- Condition Visual During Attendants# Discard

contamination to-eat foods* during checking display contaminated food
separately from display and review the
non ready-to- display layout
eat foods (e.g.
uncooked
meat)

Use different Utensils for Visual During Attendants Discard

sets of utensils handling checking display contaminated food
to handle food and clean the
ready-to-eat contaminated
foods* and non utensils
ready-to-eat
foods

Avoid topping Handling of Visual During Chef Retrain the staff

up an food checking buffet
displayed batch operation
of food with a hours
fresh one
 Displayed Handling of Visual During Chef Discard all leftovers
leftovers are leftovers checking and after
not kept for display
further use

Growth of food Keep food Temperature Use Every Attendants  Adjust hot holding Temperature
poisoning above 60°C of food thermometer hour apparatus to keep record sheet
bacteria and food above 60oC (Appendix 11)
formation of
toxin  Discard food if it is
held at 60°C or
below for more than
4 hours and review
display procedures

Keep cold Conditions Visual During Attendants Discard food if it is Temperature

foods (e.g. raw during checking display held above 4℃ for record sheet
oysters, display more than four hours for chiller
sashimi and and review display (Appendix 11)
salad) at procedures
4℃ or below
Temperature Use Every two Attendants Adjust storage
of chillers thermometer hours temperature or
repair chiller where
appropriate

Keep Condition Visual During Manager Review the quantity

displaying food during checking display of food for display
in small display to shorten display
portions time and retrain the
relevant staff to
explain the
 procedures of
display
* Sashimi and raw oysters are classified as ready-to-eat foods.
#
Attendants should be present at buffet tables to monitor the hygienic condition of displayed food.
Step: Transport

Hazards Control Limits Monitoring Procedures Corrective Records

Actions
What How When Who

Cross- Delivery Personal hygiene Visual During Supervisor Retrain delivery

contamination persons have practices of staff checking delivery persons
good personal
hygiene
practices

Delivery Hygienic Visual During Supervisor  Clean the delivery Vehicle

vehicles are condition of checking delivery vehicle inspection
clean and vehicles and immediately or use sheet
hygienic and evidence of the an appropriate
are not used for vehicles being vehicle
the transport of used to transport
chemicals chemicals  Discard
contaminated food
where necessary

Growth of food Keep hot foods Temperature of Use During Delivery  Adjust delivery
poisoning above 60°C and foods thermometer delivery person system so that it
bacteria and cold foods at can achieve
formation of 4°C or below acceptable
toxin temperatures

 Discard food if hot

food is kept at a
temperature at
60°C or below for
more than 4 hours

 Discard food if
cold food is kept at
a temperature
above 4°C for
more than 4 hours