The legislation does not name them, but the Commission considers them essential. Together with the 7 principles they make up the 12-step method (Notice 2022/C 355/01, Annex II, section 4).
- The HACCP team. People who know the hazards, the process and how the equipment is cleaned and works, backed by management. In a small business it can be a single person, with help from outside experts, as long as the business understands how its system works.
- Describe the end product: ingredients and their origin, composition and possible allergens, treatment (heat, cold, drying…), packaging, storage conditions, shelf life and instructions for use. If nothing is processed, the label information is enough.
- The intended use and who will eat it: a bar is not the same as a care home dining room, with vulnerable groups.
- The flow diagram: every step in order, from receiving raw materials to service or sale, with waiting times, times and temperatures, the route the products take and the separation between clean and dirty areas.
- Confirm the diagram on site, during working hours. Anything that does not match is corrected on the diagram.
In practiceYour diagram for Russian salad says: receipt, cold room, cooking, cooling, assembly,
display. When you confirm it in the kitchen, you see the boiled potatoes sit on the worktop for an hour before going into the cold
room. That wait goes on the diagram, because that is exactly where a hazard can arise.