The seven principles are the sequence a HACCP system is built in, and they are the same seven wherever you read them. What changes between businesses is the answers, not the questions. Working through them honestly for your own process is what turns a downloaded plan into a system an inspector will accept.
Principles one and two: analyse and identify
Conduct a hazard analysis of your process, then determine the critical control points. The first is a list of what could go wrong at each step. The second is the shorter list of steps where control is essential and can actually be applied, which is why a twenty step process rarely has twenty critical points.
Principles three and four: limits and monitoring
Establish critical limits for each control point, then establish a system to monitor them. A limit is a number or a state that separates safe from unsafe, such as a core cooking temperature. Monitoring is who checks it, how often, and with what.
Principles five and six: corrections and verification
Establish the corrective action when a limit is not met, then establish verification procedures to confirm the system is working. Corrective action is decided in advance so that the person on shift does not have to invent one. Verification is the periodic check that the whole thing still describes reality.
Principle seven: documentation
Establish documentation and records appropriate to the business. This is the principle that carries the legal weight in practice, because it is the one an officer can inspect. Records that are filled in weekly in one handwriting on the same pen are noticed.
Questions people ask about haccp principles
What are the 7 principles of HACCP?
Hazard analysis, determine critical control points, establish critical limits, establish monitoring, establish corrective action, establish verification, and establish documentation and record keeping.
Do the principles have to be followed in order?
They are designed as a sequence and the later ones depend on the earlier ones, so yes in practice. Businesses that skip to documentation end up with records for points that were never critical.
Are there preliminary steps before the seven?
Codex sets out preliminary tasks such as assembling a team, describing the product and drawing the process flow. Larger businesses do them formally; small caterers do them implicitly when they complete an FSA pack.