Guide summary

You must set up food safety procedures based on HACCP principles. Use the free Safer Food, Better Business pack if you run a small café, shop, or childminding business. If you make food with complex steps, use the free MyHACCP online tool. Failing to do this is a criminal offence with unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison.

Set up food safety management using HACCP principles
Use free SFBB pack if you run a café, shop, or childminding business
Use free MyHACCP tool online if you make food with complex processes
Keep daily records of opening and closing checks
Review your procedures every 4 weeks
Store records until your next council inspection
Get Level 3 HACCP training if you manage the system
Unlimited fine and up to 2 years in prison if you do not comply

All food businesses must have food safety management procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. This is a legal requirement under Regulation (EC) 852/2004.

For most small businesses, the Food Standards Agency provides free simplified HACCP systems through the Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) suite of packs.

The 7 HACCP Principles

Complete breakdown of the seven HACCP principles required for food safety management under Regulation (EC) 852/2004.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a legally required food safety management system for all UK food businesses. The system is based on seven internationally recognised principles that must be followed to identify, evaluate, and control food safety hazards.

Principle 1: Conduct hazard analysis: Identify and list potential hazards at each process step, evaluate hazards and conditions leading to their presence, and specify control measures to prevent, eliminate, or reduce hazards
Principle 2: Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs): Decide which hazards qualify as critical control points - steps where control is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard
Principle 3: Establish critical limits: Define measurable values that separate safe from unsafe product at each CCP (e.g. temperature, time, pH level)
Principle 4: Establish monitoring system: Set up a planned sequence of observations or measurements to ensure each CCP remains within critical limits
Principle 5: Establish corrective actions: Define actions to take when monitoring indicates a CCP is out of control or critical limits are breached
Principle 6: Validation, verification, and review: Ensure HACCP elements are scientifically sound and the system works effectively through regular checks and reviews
Principle 7: Documentation and record keeping: Maintain all HACCP documentation and records - procedures, monitoring results, corrective actions, and verification activities

Hazard types

HACCP addresses three main types of hazards:

Microbiological: Harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli, and Listeria
Chemical: Chemical contamination from cleaning products or allergens
Physical: Foreign objects such as glass, metal, or plastic fragments

Implementation approaches

UK food businesses can implement HACCP using two main FSA-provided tools:

Safer Food Better Business (SFBB): Simplified approach for small businesses with simple operations (caterers, retailers, childminders)
MyHACCP: Comprehensive online tool for small manufacturers (up to 50 employees) with more complex processes

MyHACCP - Build your HACCP plan online (opens in a new tab)

Non-compliance penalties

Failure to implement HACCP-based food safety management is a criminal offence:

Magistrates' Court - fine: Unlimited in England and Wales (hygiene regulation offences are fine-only on summary conviction); Scotland and Northern Ireland retain a £20,000 cap
Crown Court - fine: Unlimited
Crown Court - imprisonment: Up to 2 years
Training requirement: Staff developing/maintaining HACCP must have adequate training; Level 3 HACCP qualification recommended for HACCP managers

Common Critical Control Points by business type

Restaurants/Cafes: Cooking temperatures, hot holding, chilling, reheating, allergen control
Retailers: Chilled storage temperatures, date marking, allergen labelling
Manufacturers: Heat treatment (pasteurisation), metal detection, pH control, packaging integrity
Bakeries: Baking temperatures, cooling, allergen cross-contamination prevention

Enforcement consequences

Hygiene Improvement Notices - requiring specific remedial action
Low food hygiene rating (0-2) - visible to customers
Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notices - immediate closure powers
Criminal prosecution for serious or repeated breaches

The 4 Cs of food hygiene

SFBB organizes food safety controls around the 4 Cs:

Cleaning: Keep yourself, surfaces, and equipment clean
Cooking: Cook food thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria. FSA standard advice is 70°C for 2 minutes, or equivalent combinations such as 75°C for 30 seconds or 80°C for 6 seconds
Chilling: Keep food below 8°C (ideally 5°C or below)
Cross-contamination: Separate raw and ready-to-eat foods

Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) Implementation

Step-by-step process for implementing the SFBB food safety management system for small businesses with simple operations.

Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) is a simplified HACCP system designed for small food businesses with simple operations in England and Wales. It provides a practical way to meet your legal food safety management requirements under Regulation (EC) 852/2004.

SFBB 5 core topics: Cross-contamination, Cleaning, Chilling, Cooking, Management
Daily diary requirement: Record opening/closing checks every day
Review frequency: Conduct 4-weekly reviews of procedures
Record retention: Keep until next local authority visit
Available packs: Caterers, Retailers, Childminders, Care homes, Specialist cuisines

Download SFBB packs (opens in a new tab)

MyHACCP Implementation Process

Comprehensive HACCP implementation using the FSA's MyHACCP online tool, designed for small manufacturers (up to 50 employees) with more complex processes than SFBB.

MyHACCP is a free online tool from the Food Standards Agency designed for small food manufacturing businesses with fifty or fewer employees, particularly those with more complex processes where Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) would not be sufficient.

Unlike SFBB's simplified approach for caterers and retailers with straightforward operations, MyHACCP guides you through the full 7 HACCP principles step-by-step to create a comprehensive food safety management system. The tool allows you to save your progress and produces a downloadable HACCP plan document.

Target businesses: Small food manufacturers (≤50 employees) with complex processes
Tool format: Free web-based tool at myhaccp.food.gov.uk
Key difference from SFBB: Full 7 HACCP principles vs simplified safe methods
Downloadable output: Complete HACCP plan document
Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Article 5

MyHACCP vs SFBB: Which should you use?

Choose SFBB if: You run a small catering business (restaurant, cafe, takeaway), retail business (convenience store, newsagent), or childminding business with simple, straightforward food operations. SFBB uses simplified 'safe methods' rather than formal CCPs.

Choose MyHACCP if: You run a small food manufacturing business (up to 50 employees) with more complex processes that require specific critical control points. Examples include businesses with pasteurization, cooking with specific time/temperature requirements, acidification processes, or multi-step production with several potential hazard points.

MyHACCP - Build your HACCP plan online (opens in a new tab)

Download SFBB pack

Get the appropriate Safer Food, Better Business pack for your business type.
Complete daily diary

Record opening and closing checks, cooking temperatures, and cleaning tasks.
Implement 4 Cs

Ensure proper Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling, and Cross-contamination prevention.
Keep records

Maintain SFBB documentation and temperature logs for inspection.

Legal basis

Primary legislation and key regulations

Food Safety Act 1990 Primary 1990 · UK-wide Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 SI 2013 · England Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 SI 1999 · UK-wide Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (Food hygiene) EU Retained 2004 · UK-wide

Browse UK legislation legislation.gov.uk

Official guidance

Allergen guidance for food businesses (opens in a new tab)

FSA

Chilling food safely (FSA) (opens in a new tab)

FSA

Cooking food safely (FSA) (opens in a new tab)

FSA

FSA - Setting up a food business (opens in a new tab)

FSA

FSA: Food hygiene ratings (opens in a new tab)

FSA

FSA: Safer Food, Better Business (opens in a new tab)

FSA

Food hygiene and HACCP

The 4 Cs of food hygiene

Download SFBB pack

Complete daily diary

Implement 4 Cs

Keep records

Legal basis

Official guidance

Related guides in Risk Assessment

Food safety management systems and HACCP

Food safety requirements in Scotland

Register and run a food business

Brewery licensing and compliance

Food and drink business licensing and compliance