Food Safety and Sanitation Plans
Why plans matter
A food safety plan is a written, site-specific system that prevents, eliminates, or reduces hazards to safe food. In BC, operators must have a plan based on HACCP principles, often called a Food Safety Plan (FSP) and a Sanitation Plan. The FSP covers biological, chemical, and physical hazards from receiving through service. The sanitation plan covers cleaning and sanitizing of premises, equipment, and utensils, plus pest control and waste management.
Core concepts
Know the seven HACCP principles: hazard analysis, critical control points (CCPs), critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record keeping. A CCP is a step where control is essential; critical limits are measurable (e.g., internal temperature 74°C for poultry). Monitoring must be scheduled and assigned. Corrective actions must address the affected food and the process. Verification confirms the plan works (e.g., records review, calibration, environmental swabs).
Traps in questions
- Confusing verification with monitoring: monitoring happens at the CCP in real time; verification is a separate check that the system is working.
- Assuming a CCP is any step: only steps with a significant hazard and a measurable limit qualify.
- Forgetting that sanitation plans must specify frequency, method, chemicals, concentration, and responsible person.
- Overlooking that plans must be updated when the menu, equipment, or process changes.
Worked example
A restaurant cooks chicken to 74°C. The CCP is cooking; the critical limit is 74°C for 15 seconds; monitoring is a probe thermometer reading by the cook each batch; corrective action is to continue cooking and recheck; verification is the manager’s weekly record review and monthly thermometer calibration.
Rule of thumb
If a step can be measured and its failure would make food unsafe, it is likely a CCP-write it down, assign a limit, and record it.