Food Safety Programs

A food safety program is a documented system that describes how a food business controls the safety of the food being processed.  The food safety program can be presented as a written version or as an electronic version.

Your food safety program must contain:

• a quality policy
• HACCP plan (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points)
• prerequisite programs
• standard operating procedures and work instructions
• a documented monitoring system i.e. weekly diary, forms and records.

If you are monitoring electronically, your monitoring system must:

• record the date and time when the monitoring occurred
• provide an explanation if Critical Control Points or Control Points were not under control
• say what was monitored e.g. product and cool room temperature
• have a backup system if the electronic monitoring and recording fails
• show that the food safety data was checked, dated, and signed
• meet the retention period required by the applicable standards.

You must include how your electronic monitoring system was installed, downloaded and checked in your food safety program.

How to develop your food safety program

To develop your food safety program use the Guide to the Implementation and Auditing of HACCP

and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Seafood businesses should read Chapter 3 of the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code.