Flexibility for small businesses
HACCP must be workable in every business, including small ones. Regulation 852/2004 recognises that some have no CCPs, that good practices can replace monitoring of them, that a limit need not be a figure and that documents should not be an excessive burden (recital 15, quoted in Notice 2022/C 355/01, Annex II, section 3.1). In Spain, shops and restaurants can apply it in a simplified way following the Commission's guidance for retailers (Royal Decree 1021/2022, Article 20).
Sector guides
- Guides to good hygiene practice and to the application of HACCP are voluntary (Article 7) and help you comply.
- If you use a generic guide, check that it covers everything you do. Anything it does not cover needs your own procedures (Notice, Annex II, section 3.3).
Training the team
All staff need hygiene training suited to their work. Those who monitor or verify CCPs also need training in the HACCP procedures for their task: front-of-house staff need a hygiene level; kitchen staff also need hygienic food preparation (Notice, section 8).
Management commitment
Since 2021, management must make everyone's roles clear, keep the system in place when there are changes, verify that controls are carried out and documentation is up to date, ensure staff training and supervision, comply with legal requirements and seek continuous improvement (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter XIa, point 2).
Source: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (consolidated text), Article 7 and Annex II, Chapters XIa and XII · Commission Notice 2022/C 355/01 on food safety management systems (good hygiene practices and procedures based on the HACCP principles), sections 6 and 8 and Annex II, section 3 · Real Decreto 1021/2022, food hygiene in retail (consolidated text, in Spanish), Article 20