If you export food or supply to large retail chains, your buyer will ask for HACCP. It is a systematic approach to identifying every hazard point in your food process and proving you are monitoring and controlling it. Unlike FSSAI which is a licence, HACCP is a food safety management system you implement and then certify.
7
Core HACCP principles (Codex)
Preventive
Control hazards before they occur
Required
For most food export buyers
Your company is implementing HACCP and you need to understand your role. HACCP identifies the specific points in your food process where things could go wrong and ensures those points are monitored every day. Your job is to follow monitoring procedures and record exactly what you observe.
CCPs
Critical Control Points you monitor daily
Written
Corrective actions for every deviation
Records
Every observation documented
Quick reference. HACCP based on 7 Codex Alimentarius principles. Codex document: CAC/RCP 1-1969 Rev.4-2003. In India: FSSAI Schedule 4 references HACCP. ISO 22000:2018 incorporates HACCP. FSSC 22000 v6 adds sector PRPs on ISO 22000.
7
Principles (Codex)
Schedule 4
FSSAI domestic reference
ISO 22000
Embeds HACCP within FSMS
HACCP was developed in the 1960s jointly by the Pillsbury Company, US Army Natick Laboratories, and NASA for food safety in space missions. Formalised by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1993. The approach shifted food safety from end-product testing to preventive control at critical process points.
1960s
Developed for NASA space food
1993
Codex formalised
Global
Recognised in 180+ countries
Required by most food export buyersFoundation for ISO 22000 and BRCBased on 7 Codex Alimentarius principles
What’s on this page
01 —What it isUnderstanding HACCP
A food safety system built on preventing hazards — not just testing finished products.
HACCP is a preventive approach to food safety. Instead of testing the finished product, HACCP identifies every point in your food process where a hazard could occur — biological, chemical, or physical — and puts controls in place at those critical points.
A CCP (Critical Control Point) is any step where a hazard must be controlled to keep food safe. The cooking temperature for a cooked product is a CCP. The critical limit is the minimum temperature. Monitoring is checking that temperature. The corrective action is what happens if the temperature is not reached.
This framework is based on the 7 principles published by the Codex Alimentarius Commission — the joint FAO/WHO body that sets international food standards. The same principles are referenced by FSSAI in India, the FDA in the US, and food safety regulators worldwide.
HACCP is the foundation everything else builds on. ISO 22000, BRC, and FSSC 22000 all incorporate HACCP within their frameworks. If you are pursuing any of these, you start by implementing HACCP.
👥 Illustrative case — details changed for confidentiality
The business
Dairy products processor Anand, Gujarat · 60 employees, supplying retail chains across 3 states
The trigger
An international retail buyer asked for HACCP certification as a condition of listing. Their consultant said certification would take at least 6 months because CCP monitoring records were incomplete.
The challenge
CCP checks were being performed on the floor — but records were partly on paper, partly in WhatsApp messages, partly nowhere. Reconstructing 3 months of verifiable CCP history was not possible.
Where Clicarity came in
They had deployed Clicarity 4 months earlier. Every production batch had a complete digital record of stage, operator, timestamp, and quantity. The consultant configured the pasteurisation stage with temperature and hold-time fields. From that point, every batch generated a complete CCP monitoring record as part of normal daily work.
The result
HACCP certification achieved within the projected timeline. Buyer listing confirmed.
The Clicarity records gave us the foundation we needed. We didn't have to reconstruct anything.
02 —Who needs itIs it right for you?
Do you actually need it? Honest answer.
✓ You need it
Food manufacturers exporting to any country
Businesses supplying to large retail chains
Processors pursuing ISO 22000 or BRC
Caterers for large institutions
∼ Worth considering
Mid-size food processors with retail distribution
Dairy and beverage manufacturers
Processed meat and poultry businesses
— Not immediately needed
Small restaurants and dhabas (FSSAI is the requirement)
Home bakers and micro food businesses
Local market-only businesses with no export requirements
03 —What it requiresWhat is checked
The 7 HACCP principles — what each one requires you to document.
1
Conduct a hazard analysis
Identify every biological, chemical, and physical hazard at each step of your production process. Assess significance of each.
E.g. At receiving: biological hazard (microbial contamination), physical hazard (foreign objects in bulk material).Most common gap: Hazards identified for main steps only. Receiving, storage, and packaging often missed.
2
Identify CCPs using a decision tree
Determine which steps are CCPs where control is essential to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. Document the decision tree reasoning for each.
E.g. Cooking step — CCP for biological hazards. Metal detection — CCP for physical hazards.
3
Establish critical limits for each CCP
The exact value that must be met at each CCP. Not a target range — a hard limit that triggers corrective action if breached.
E.g. Internal temperature at cooking CCP: minimum value as defined by applicable food safety standard for that product type.
4
Establish monitoring procedures
How each CCP is monitored, how frequently, by whom, and how results are recorded. The monitoring record is your daily proof.
E.g. Temperature checked by named role at defined frequency using calibrated equipment. Results recorded in the batch log.Most common gap: Monitoring is performed but records are incomplete or missing for some batches. Auditors check historical records.
5
Establish corrective actions
Document exactly what must be done when a critical limit is not met. Who is responsible, what happens to the affected product.
E.g. If cooking temperature not reached: batch quarantined, named supervisor notified, root cause identified before restarting.
6
Establish verification procedures
How you confirm the HACCP system works: internal audits, calibration of monitoring equipment, review of records, periodic product testing.
7
Establish record keeping
All HACCP documents and records maintained: the plan, monitoring records, corrective action records, verification records, calibration certificates.
E.g. Daily batch monitoring logs, corrective action reports, equipment calibration certificates.Most common gap: Records maintained during audit preparation but not consistently for historical production.
What inspectors really check
They will select a batch and ask: "Show me the CCP monitoring record for this specific batch." Then: "Were there any deviations? Show me the corrective action record." Incomplete CCP records for any batch is treated as a system failure.
Gap analysis checklist — tick what you already have
Hazard analysis completed for all process steps
Including receiving, storage, and packaging — not just main processing.
CCPs identified with decision tree documentation
Reasoning documented for why each step was or was not a CCP.
Critical limits defined for each CCP
Specific measurable values based on scientific evidence or applicable standards.
Monitoring procedures written and assigned
Who monitors, at what frequency, using what equipment, how recorded.
Corrective action procedures written for each CCP
What happens when a limit is breached. Named responsible person.
Daily CCP monitoring records being maintained
Actual production records — not example records created for the audit.
Monitoring equipment calibrated with current certificates
Thermometers, pH meters, metal detectors.
HACCP plan reviewed after any process change
System updated when production changes.
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04 —Official bodyWho certifies in India
Who issues this in India — and how to verify it.
HACCP is a framework developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission — not a certificate issued by one authority. In India, HACCP certification is issued by NABCB-accredited certification bodies.
Always verify CB accreditation before engaging them. Confirm your chosen CB holds NABCB accreditation for food safety certification at nabcb.qci.org.in before proceeding.
NABCB — Find accredited food safety CBs
Verify CB accreditation before engaging. Check food safety scope.
Map every step from raw material receipt to finished product despatch.
Step 2
Hazard analysis
For every step: identify and assess biological, chemical, and physical hazards.
Step 3
Identify CCPs
Apply the decision tree. Document reasoning for each CCP identified.
Step 4
Set limits & monitoring
Define critical limits. Implement daily monitoring with records from day one.
Step 5
Build records
Collect the minimum period of complete CCP monitoring records required by your CB.
Certification
CB audit
Engage a NABCB-accredited CB for pre-assessment and formal certification audit.
▶Where to begin: Use the checklist in Section 3 to assess your readiness before contacting any CB.
Implementation steps
Plan → Monitor → Records → Certify
Cannot shortcut the records phase. Your CB needs to see a minimum period of complete records.
Records required
Minimum period
Most CBs require a minimum period of CCP records. Confirm the exact requirement with your CB.
Certificate validity
Confirm with your CB
Typically 3 years with surveillance audits. Confirm with the CB you engage.
Cost
Get 3 quotes
Varies by process complexity and CB. Contact 3 NABCB-accredited CBs.
The records phase cannot be skipped. You cannot implement HACCP on paper today and get certified next week. CBs need to see that your monitoring system has been running with complete records over an extended period.
06 —Find certified companiesHow to verify
How to find and verify certified organisations.
HACCP certification is held by food manufacturers across India. To verify whether a specific food business is certified, contact the NABCB-accredited CB that issued their certificate, or request the certificate and verify the issuing CB at nabcb.qci.org.in.
How to verify: To confirm whether any organisation holds a current HACCP certification, use the official register. Verify the issuing CB's accreditation at nabcb.qci.org.in.
Draw a complete process flow diagram of your food production
Write every step from raw material receipt to final product despatch. Include every handling, processing, storage, and packaging step.
2
Conduct the hazard analysis for every step
For every step: what biological hazard? What chemical? What physical? Which are significant enough to require a CCP? Document your reasoning carefully.
3
Engage a NABCB-accredited CB for pre-assessment
Once your HACCP plan is documented and you have the required monitoring records, request a pre-assessment before the formal audit to find gaps while you still have time to fix them.
Good records are the foundation. A process tracker builds them automatically.
Clicarity — Live Job Process Tracker & Bottleneck Identifier
Clicarity doesn't implement HACCP for you. It tracks your production batches — and when your CCPs are mapped to stages, the monitoring records are created as part of daily work.
HACCP requires daily monitoring records at each CCP — who checked what, when, what the reading was, and what corrective action was taken if the critical limit was not met. In Clicarity, each production stage has custom fields your team fills in as they work. When your pasteurisation stage captures temperature, hold time, and pass/fail — with a corrective action field for deviations — that is your CCP monitoring record. Built during normal operations, not assembled afterwards.
CCP stages like pasteurisation and metal detection are configured with custom fields: temperature, hold time, pass/fail dropdown, corrective action field — all captured during the normal stage update.
When a batch splits by grade, each sub-batch moves through its own CCP monitoring independently. When they rejoin, the full CCP history of every grade is preserved in one job record.
Operator dropdowns ensure every CCP record is attributed to a named person — when the auditor asks "who monitored this CCP on this date?" the answer is already in the system.
Clicarity shows stage-by-stage yield data — input vs output vs wastage per batch — which forms your process verification evidence.
📄 Job tracked in Clicarity
#WO-3190 — Mango pulp export batch — 2,000 kg
Job created
✎Product
#Export qty (kg)
✎Buyer
📅Shipment date
▼Destination country
→
Raw material receipt
▼Supplier
✎Lot no.
#Qty received (kg)
▼Condition
📷Photo
→
Washing & sorting
#Qty in (kg)
#Qty passed (kg)
#Qty rejected (kg)
▼Rejection reason
→
Pulping
#Qty in (kg)
#Qty out (kg)
▼Operator
▼Machine no.
▼ Job splits — each component tracked independently
#WO-3190-A
Grade A pulp — 1,400 kg
#Brix reading
#pH reading
▼Operator
#WO-3190-B
Grade B pulp — 420 kg
#Brix reading
#pH reading
▼Operator
▲
Components rejoin as #WO-3190 — complete record of every branch, every data point, every sign-off preserved.
CCP
Pasteurisation ⚠ CCP
#Temp reached (°C)
#Hold time (min)
▼Operator
▼Critical limit met
✎Corrective action if no
→
CCP
Metal detection ⚠ CCP
✎Sensitivity set
▼Test piece passed
#Qty passed (kg)
#Qty rejected
▼Operator
→
Filling & sealing
✎Batch code
#Fill weight (kg)
▼Seal check
📷Photo
→
Cold storage & despatch
#Storage temp (°C)
📅Despatch date
#Qty despatched (kg)
✎Vehicle no.
Wastage tracked:▰ Sorting: rejected fruit quantity and reason▰ Pulping: yield vs input per grade▰ Pasteurisation CCP: temp + hold time — corrective action if limit not met
ⓘ Fields and stage names are fully customisable. This illustrates a typical food export / HACCP setup.
👥 Illustrative case — details changed for confidentiality
The business
Dairy products processor Anand, Gujarat · 60 employees, supplying retail chains across 3 states
The trigger
An international retail buyer asked for HACCP certification as a condition of listing. Their consultant said certification would take at least 6 months because CCP monitoring records were incomplete.
The challenge
CCP checks were being performed on the floor — but records were partly on paper, partly in WhatsApp messages, partly nowhere. Reconstructing 3 months of verifiable CCP history was not possible.
Where Clicarity came in
They had deployed Clicarity 4 months earlier. Every production batch had a complete digital record of stage, operator, timestamp, and quantity. The consultant configured the pasteurisation stage with temperature and hold-time fields. From that point, every batch generated a complete CCP monitoring record as part of normal daily work.
The result
HACCP certification achieved within the projected timeline. Buyer listing confirmed.
The Clicarity records gave us the foundation we needed. We didn't have to reconstruct anything.
Clicarity is a process tracking tool. It does not provide certification, consulting, or audit services.