Level 2 · Lesson 1

What HACCP is
and why it exists

Level 1 was about what you do. Level 2 is about the system your work sits inside, and it starts with the idea the whole thing is built on.

Start with the name

Five letters that tell you what it does

HAHazard AnalysisWork out what could make the food unsafe

CCPCritical Control PointFind the steps where you have to get it right

Put together: find the hazards, then control them at the points that matter. That is the whole idea in one line.

Why it works

It prevents problems instead of testing for them

The old way: check the food at the end

Ingredients

Prepare

Cook

Test a sample

A test at the end checks a few items after everything is made. If it fails, the food is already cooked, plated, or shipped. Too late.

HACCP: control the hazard as you go

Ingredients

Prepare

Cook to 75°C

Customer

Each step that matters is controlled while it happens, so a problem is caught and fixed before the food moves on. Nothing unsafe reaches the end.

The old way

Test the batch

One hundred packs Three are contaminated Tests used 0 of 5

Tested, passed Contaminated Never tested, shipped

Tap five packs to send them to the lab.

The definition to remember

HACCP is

a preventive system that controls food safety hazards before they reach the customer, instead of testing the finished food and hoping it is safe.

Every other lesson in Level 2 is a piece of how that system is built. This is the sentence they all hang from.

Four things that are always true

What you can say about HACCP anywhere

Preventive

It stops hazards reaching the customer, instead of catching them after the fact.

Internationally recognised

The same system is used and trusted across the world, built on the Codex framework.

Covers the whole journey

From raw materials to the customer's plate, and every stage in between.

Built to control hazards

Its single goal is keeping food safe by controlling the things that make it unsafe.

From farm to fork

It follows the food the whole way

Raw materials

Suppliers, deliveries

Storage

Chilled, frozen, dry

Preparation

Handling, mixing

Cooking

Heat, process

Service

Plating, packing

Customer

Eaten safely

A hazard can enter at any of these steps, so the system watches all of them. This is why HACCP is a chain, and why a weak link anywhere puts the customer at risk.

Your turn

Which one is the HACCP way of thinking?

A kitchen wants to be sure the chicken it serves is safe. Which approach fits HACCP?

Tap anywhere to continue

The five things to remember

1HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point

2It is a preventive system that controls hazards before they reach the customer

3It controls hazards as food is made, and not testing the finished food

4It is internationally recognised and applies across the whole food chain

5Its goal is to keep food safe by controlling the hazards that make it unsafe

Sample question

One question from the quiz

What kind of system is HACCP?

Tap anywhere to continue

Level 2 has begun

You now know what the system is. The next six lessons build it piece by piece. The quiz is where you prove what you know and earn a certificate recognised by TrustBite. One payment covers all three levels, so Levels 1 and 3 are included at no extra cost.

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Back to Level 1 Next: Lesson 2, Hazards and hazard analysis Training a team? See group options

What HACCP isand why it exists