HACCP: a worked example: Hazard analysis

Fictional, and the ratings are the team's judgement. Step 6 of 12, Principle 1. Other teams may rate these differently, and a real analysis needs its own evidence.

defines a significant as one that is reasonably likely to occur at an unacceptable level in the absence of control, and for which control is essential given the intended use. So rate each hazard as if the control were not there. This is the most common mistake: rating a hazard low because the control already works.

This team's rule	What it means
Likelihood: Low, Medium, High	How likely at an unacceptable level, without the control
Severity: Low, Medium, High	How bad it is if it happens. Low: minor upset. Medium: illness that usually resolves. High: serious illness, hospital or death.
Significant	Yes where control is essential: usually High severity with Medium or High likelihood, or High likelihood with Medium severity. Otherwise the team gives its reason.
	does not prescribe a scoring scale. This one is only an example.

Step	Type	Hazard	Likelihood	Severity	Significant?	Justification	Control measure
1 Receive chicken	Biological	, Campylobacter and on raw chicken	High	High	Yes	Raw poultry is a known source. The kitchen cannot keep it out at receiving.	, 5 °C or below at receipt. Elimination at step 4.
1 Receive chicken	Biological	Growth or toxin, such as , if delivered warm	Medium	Medium	No	Short supply chain and . Toxin needs sustained warmth first. Receiving check catches a warm delivery.	Probe each delivery. Reject above 5 °C unless the transporter shows it is safe.
1 Receive spices	Biological	of and , and , in dry spices	High	Medium	Yes	Many dried spices carry . Spores survive cooking, so they are still there at .	Supplier . killed at step 4. controlled at step 6.
1 Receive all	Chemical	Undeclared in a bought ingredient, such as wheat or milk in a spice blend	Medium	High	Yes	Blends change without notice. Heat does not remove an .	Current on file. Compare labels at receipt. Report any change.
1 Receive all	Chemical	Pesticide residue or contaminants in produce and spices	Low	Medium	No	and regulated supply. Nothing the kitchen does adds to it.	Supplier approval. Wash fresh produce.
1 Receive all	Physical	Glass, metal, stones or packaging in ingredients	Low	Medium	No	. Spices and packs checked when opened.	Visual check. Reject damaged packs.
2 Store raw	Biological	Raw chicken drip onto food or cooked curry	Medium	High	Yes	A common failure in a shared cool room. Cooked food has no later cook, only reheating.	Raw on the lowest shelf, in covered containers. Separate shelf for cooked food. Daily check.
3 Prepare	Biological	from raw chicken to vegetables, or from handlers	Medium	Medium	No	All ingredients go through step 4 straight after, in the same pot.	Separate raw bench and boards. Handwashing. Short time at room temperature.
3 Prepare	Physical	Bone, blue plastic, knife tips or jewellery	Medium	Medium	No	Boneless thigh can still carry bone. Cooks check every piece when dicing. Choking risk is low in small pieces.	Check while dicing. Knife and jewellery rules. Coloured gloves.
3 and 4	Chemical	or wrong recipe: cashew or yoghurt in a batch or a kettle meant to be free of them	Medium	High	Yes	are in the recipe, so all other food sharing the kitchen is at risk. Severe can follow very small doses.	tubs sealed and labelled. Recipe sheet. Clean-down, before another product uses the kettle.
4 Cook	Biological	Survival of , Campylobacter and from undercooking	High	High	Yes	Big batch, big chicken pieces and a kettle with cooler spots. An undercooked batch affects everyone who eats it.	CCP 1: cook to the , probed at the coolest point.
4 Cook	Biological	survive and are activated by the heat	High	Medium	Yes	Cooking does not destroy these and can activate them. Nothing at this step can control them.	None at this step. Moves to step 6.
5 Decant	Biological	Contamination from pans, or slow from pans filled too deep	Medium	Medium	No	Pans are cleaned and sanitised. Depth is checked as part of step 6.	Clean pans. Fill to the 5 cm mark on the pan.
6 Blast chill	Biological	germinate, cells multiply and or form toxin during slow	High	High	Yes	This is the classic failure in cooked bulk food. Reheating does not destroy toxins and may not reduce high numbers.	CCP 2: cool within the .
6 and 7	Biological	and other contamination after the cook, from chiller, surfaces, hands, drains	Medium	High	Yes	persists in cold, wet places and grows slowly in the chiller. Cooked food is exposed here.	Targeted cleaning, environmental checks, clean area for , hygiene rules. Survivors reduced at step 9.
7 Portion	Biological	Viruses or from handlers who are ill or have poor hygiene	Medium	High	Yes	Food is handled after the cook. Reheating does not reliably destroy toxin.	No work with symptoms or infected wounds. Handwashing, clean utensils, gloves where used.
7 Label	Chemical	Wrong label or wrong list on a tray	Medium	High	Yes	Several products may be labelled on one day. Nobody can see the in the food.	One product at a time on the bench. Second person checks each batch's first label.
7 Seal	Biological	C. botulinum in sealed trays	Low	High	No	Film lid only, no vacuum, 5-day life, kept at 5 °C or below. Would need re-assessment for vacuum packing or longer life.	Shelf life . Temperature control. Do not change the packaging without review.
8 Chilled storage	Biological	Slow growth of and cold-tolerant . Faster growth if the unit fails.	Medium	High	Yes	still grows at 5 °C and below, slowly. together decide the risk.	5 °C or below, 5-day use-by, sensor plus daily probe, alarm and hold if out of .
8 Chilled storage	Chemical	Cleaning chemical stored near or above food	Low	Medium	No	Chemicals have a separate locked store. Spray bottles are labelled.	Chemical store. Training.
9 Reheat	Biological	Survival of , including from after the cook	Medium	High	Yes	This is the last step that can kill vegetative cells before the customer eats. Large pans and cold centres are easy to under-heat.	CCP 3: reheat to the within the time limit.
9 Reheat	Biological	Toxins already formed	Low	High	No	Not a reheat if CCP 2 held. Reheating does not fix it. It is why failures are discarded, not reheated.	Control is at step 6.
10 Hot hold	Biological	Growth of spore-formers if food falls below 60 °C	Medium	High	Yes	A bain-marie running low or a pan left for a long time.	60 °C or above, probe each hour, total time rule, discard at the end of service.
11 Serve	Chemical	Wrong answer, or a shared spoon	Medium	High	Yes	This is where a person with an relies on what they are told.	at the counter. Dedicated spoon. Staff trained not to guess.
12 Leftovers	Biological	Leftovers reused or reheated a second time	Medium	High	Yes	Known misuse, because throwing food away hurts. Each reheat cycle adds time at warm temperatures.	Discard rule. Quantities recorded. Portion to demand.

Rows marked Significant: No still have controls. They rest on , and the team records why they do not need more. A being significant does not make it a CCP either. That decision comes next.

Sources: Codex CXC 1-1969, Rev. 2022, §6 definitions, §19.6, Annex III Safe Food Australia, 4th edition, p 43 (spores, toxins, cooling)MPI New Zealand, Bacillus cereus sheet (spores in dried herbs and spices, emetic toxin stable in food)FSANZ, Clostridium perfringens (spiced and herbed pre-cooked dishes listed as higher risk)