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The principles, the steps, the paperwork, and what a HACCP certificate actually is.
HACCP stands for hazard analysis and critical control points. It's the internationally recognized method, set out by the Codex Alimentarius, for finding the biological, chemical and physical hazards in a food process and controlling them at the points where control is critical.
The seven principles are:
The 12 steps are five preliminary steps followed by the seven principles. The preliminary steps are: assemble the HACCP team and set the scope; describe the product; identify its intended use and users; draw the process flow diagram; and confirm the flow diagram on the floor. Steps 6 to 12 apply the seven principles.
Work through the 12 steps in order, with people who know the process. The part that matters most is the hazard analysis: for each step in your flow diagram, list what could realistically go wrong, how likely and severe it is, and how it's controlled. A plan copied from a template usually fails here, because the hazards have to come from your own products and equipment.
Typically: the team and scope, product descriptions, the process flow diagram, the hazard analysis, the HACCP plan table for each CCP (limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification), validation evidence for the critical limits, and the records your team fills in: monitoring logs, corrective action records and verification records.
It depends what you mean. A person gets a HACCP training certificate by completing a course. A business can have its HACCP system certified by a third-party certification body, or go further with a GFSI-recognized scheme such as SQF, BRCGS or FSSC 22000. Under the SFCR, CFIA looks at your preventive control plan; it doesn't issue HACCP certificates.
Some free online courses teach the basics, and they can be useful for awareness. A free course doesn't certify your site, and customers and auditors usually look for training from a recognized provider plus evidence that the plan works in practice.
It depends on how many products and processes you have and what's already in place. Writing the plan is only part of it: monitoring records, corrective actions and verification need time to build up before an auditor can see that the system works.
HACCP is the method. A PCP is the written plan the SFCR requires of many licence holders. A PCP uses HACCP's hazard analysis and adds other SFCR requirements, such as labelling and packaging measures and controls on imported food.
Read the full guide Source: CFIA: Regulatory requirements, preventive control plan (opens in a new tab)
General information, reviewed 2026-10-28. It isn't legal advice or a determination for your business; what applies depends on your products, activities and markets.
Related solution: HACCP and food safety plans
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