HACCP during COVID-19

In the age of COVID-19, risk management policies, protocols and practices are on the forefront of everyone’s minds, as the pandemic has forced us to be extra vigilant about our health and the risks to others.

But you shouldn’t be starting a safety plan completely from scratch… instead, you can take what you know about HACCP principals and apply these to the current situation!

HACCP focuses on food safety, it’s overarching tenets can be applied as part of a risk management program designed to prevent the spread of COVID.

Even though a new year has started and you likely have already implemented several new processes, the tips below may help you identify gaps in your plan and prompt you to take additional action.

What is HACCP?

The purpose of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) is just like it sounds - to assess risks and control and mitigate hazards. It sounds simple, but the process is quite complex.

How do you do this for your Restaurant?

1. Conduct a hazard analysis of your foodservice operation.

   • What do we know about the different ways the virus spreads?

   • What measures do we need to take to prevent the spread of the virus?

   • Where might someone be most likely to spread the virus?

   • How can we keep the virus from entering the facility?

2. Identify critical control points to prevent/eliminate safety hazards

   • Will you allow a delivery person into your kitchen to make deliveries, or will the driver be required to leave them in a separate area for retrieval by an employee?

   • Will you take employee’s temperatures when they come to work? Will you keep a log?

   • What areas require sanitation?

   • How often will you clean and sanitize prep areas? Serving areas?

   • What system will you implement so all employees know when to clean versus when to sanitize?

3. Establish critical limits based on science

   1. If temperatures are taken, at what temperature will an employee be sent home?

   2. Will delivery personnel have advance notice of changed protocols?

   3. How often and under what circumstances will gloves, masks and aprons be changed?

   4. Will you require a clearance letter from the Health Department from positive employees?

4. Establish CCP monitoring requirements to know whether a CCP is being met

   1. How often will surfaces be cleaned and sanitized?

   2. Who will monitor cleaning and sanitizing?

   3. Are the sanitizing chemicals used effective against COVID?

   4. Which surfaces will be cleaned and how often?

   5. Is the protocol written and available?

   6. Are there checklists available?

5. Establish corrective actions to be taken when there’s noncompliance or deviation. Consider:

   1. How are safety policies and procedures communicated to your staff and customers?

   2. Have training programs been develop to keep employees and customers safe?

   3. Who developed the training?

6. Establish verification practices to help ensure your risk management plan is effective

   1. Are employees getting sick? Are customers getting sick?

7. Document your processes and procedures

   1. Make sure your HACCP risk management plan is well documented. It may be necessary as evidence of safe practices or to assist with contact tracing

   2. Maintain records on how you address each HACCP principal