EHAI Primary Food Safety study plan
EHAI Primary Food Safety · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Food Safety and HACCP
Map the seven HACCP principles in your own words and write a one-line definition for each
Identify the 12 steps of HACCP plan development and place each of the seven principles on that sequence
List the five recognized biological hazard categories (bacteria, viruses, parasites, protozoa, prions) with one food example each
Define biological, chemical, and physical hazards and classify 20 sample scenarios into the correct category
Your checkpoint
A one-page hazard taxonomy sheet with 20 classified scenarios and corrections noted for any you got wrong
Food Safety and HACCP
Conduct a mock hazard analysis for a hot-held cooked protein and a ready-to-eat salad, ranking hazards by severity and likelihood
Determine critical control points using a decision-tree approach and justify each CCP decision
Distinguish critical limits from operating limits and write measurable critical limits for three CCPs
Explain how prerequisite programs reduce but do not replace CCPs
Your checkpoint
A two-product hazard analysis worksheet with CCP determinations and numeric critical limits
Food Safety and HACCP
Design monitoring procedures for each CCP, specifying what, how, when, and who
Choose corrective actions for three deviation scenarios and state how affected product is handled
Describe verification versus validation activities and assign at least three examples to each
Outline the record types a HACCP plan requires and their retention expectations
Your checkpoint
A CCP monitoring and corrective action table covering three CCPs with verification and recordkeeping columns
Food Safety and HACCP
Memorize the time-temperature danger zone and apply it to cooling, reheating, and hot/cold holding scenarios
Calculate cooling rates from given start and end temperatures and judge compliance
Explain the role of water activity, pH, and oxygen in limiting pathogen growth
Differentiate spore-formers, toxin producers, and vegetative pathogens by control strategy
Your checkpoint
A timed self-quiz on temperature control and growth factors scored at 80 percent or higher
Food Safety and HACCP
Trace the major foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, Norovirus) to likely foods and controls
Match each pathogen to its illness mechanism: infection, intoxication, or toxin-mediated infection
Identify the most common contributing factors in foodborne illness outbreaks
Explain how cross-contamination and poor personal hygiene translate into outbreak scenarios
Your checkpoint
A pathogen reference grid with organism, source, mechanism, control, and one outbreak-style scenario each
Food Safety and HACCP
Apply the five-step cleaning and sanitizing sequence and select sanitizers for stated situations
Calculate a sanitizer dilution from label directions and judge whether a posted concentration is acceptable
Explain personal hygiene, handwashing, and exclusion-from-work requirements for ill food workers
Connect pest control, facility design, and supplier approval to prerequisite program effectiveness
Your checkpoint
A sanitation and prerequisite program checklist for a mock facility with at least 15 verifiable items
Food Safety and HACCP
Assemble a complete HACCP plan for a single product from hazard analysis through records, using all seven principles
Critique a sample plan to find missing CCPs, vague critical limits, and undocumented verification
Interpret labeling and allergen-control expectations for a product with multiple allergens
Respond to regulatory-style inspection findings with corrective action wording
Your checkpoint
A full seven-principle HACCP plan for one product plus a written critique of a flawed sample plan
Food Safety and HACCP
Review all missed items from weeks 1 through 7 and rewrite each as a corrected note
Complete two timed practice sets under exam conditions and analyze error patterns by topic
Recite the seven principles and 12 development steps from memory without notes
Build a one-page quick-reference sheet of critical limits, temperatures, and pathogen controls
Your checkpoint
A timed full-length practice exam scored at 85 percent or higher with a written error-analysis log
Milestones
Week 2: You can perform a hazard analysis and justify CCP decisions for two distinct products without consulting notes
Week 4: You score at least 80 percent on the temperature-control and growth-factor self-quiz and can state the danger zone and cooling parameters from memory
Week 6: You correctly explain cleaning versus sanitizing, calculate a sanitizer dilution, and list the pathogen-to-control pairings for all six target organisms
Week 8: You score at least 85 percent on a timed full-length practice exam and can recite the seven HACCP principles and 12 development steps unaided