HACCP kitchen rules: what should every member of staff know?
The HACCP kitchen rules are the daily working agreements that follow from your HACCP plan or hygiene code, written out for the person working at the stove. HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. There are usually ten to twelve, not a hundred. Hang them up in a fixed place and discuss them at every briefing. During an inspection, the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) does not only look at the plan. It also looks at what the staff actually do. The records that go with the rules are in the HACCP lists for hospitality.
The rules below are a working method, not a legal list. You take the exact agreements, with limit values and frequencies, from the hygiene code for your sector or from your own HACCP plan. If a rule differs from your plan, your plan applies.
Where the kitchen rules come from
Each rule belongs to one of the 7 HACCP principles, usually to the basic conditions or to a CCP (critical control point). This is useful to know. If a member of staff forgets a rule, you can explain why it exists. Rules you write down only because you have to are not followed.
The split that works in most kitchens:
- rules on personal hygiene, which apply every day
- rules on separation, which apply during every preparation
- rules on temperature, which are recorded on the lists
- rules on cleaning, which follow the cleaning schedule
- rules on allergens, which apply to every order and every dish
Template: the kitchen rules on one page
Below is a worked example for a fictional bistro restaurant. Fill in the “source” column with the part of your plan or code, so that each rule can be traced back.
| No. | Rule for the member of staff | What it prevents | Source in your plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wash your hands before work, after using the toilet and after touching raw meat or fish | Transfer of bacteria to prepared dishes | Personnel and hygiene |
| 2 | Do not work when you have an illness that can be passed on through food, and report it (Annex II, Chapter VIII of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 ) | Contamination of the dish by the member of staff | Personnel |
| 3 | Use the colour codes for chopping boards: raw meat, fish, vegetables and cooked food | Cross-contamination from raw to cooked | Basic condition: separation |
| 4 | Store raw meat and fish below prepared products in the cold room | Raw juices dripping onto cooked food | Basic condition: storage |
| 5 | Cook dishes to the core temperature in your plan | Pathogens surviving | CCP: cooking |
| 6 | Cool prepared dishes within the time in your plan and record it | Growth of spore-forming bacteria | CCP: cooling |
| 7 | Check the label and the allergen matrix before you serve a dish | Allergen on the wrong plate | Allergens |
| 8 | Fill in the temperature form at the moment you measure, not afterwards | Unreliable records | Records |
| 9 | Report a deviation to the person in charge straight away and record the action | Using a product that is not right | Corrective measures |
| 10 | Keep your workspace clean according to the cleaning schedule and tick it off | Build-up of dirt and residue | Basic condition: cleaning |
The “source” column is the most important part. A rule without a source is often a rule that nobody checks.
Why the rules need to be on the wall and in the briefing
A rule that sits only in a folder exists for the inspector on paper, but not on the kitchen floor. Hang the ten rules up by the sink and by the cold room. Discuss them when someone starts and once a year after that, and record that briefing.
Prove the briefing with the staff list from your records. The training part is in the HACCP checklist under personnel and training. For what the inspector asks of staff, read NVWA inspection on HACCP.
Example of an inspection question
An inspector walks along the cooking line and asks the member of staff at the wok: “When do you change chopping board?” A good answer is specific: “At every move from raw to cooked. I take the green board for vegetables and the red one for meat.” A vague answer such as “I just keep an eye on it” gives the inspector a reason to ask more questions.
Practise this with your staff. Ask the questions yourself, and record the briefing with the date and the names.
Common mistakes
- A list of rules that does not match the real kitchen, for example a rule for a core temperature that the restaurant does not use
- Rules that are too general, such as “be hygienic”, without an action attached
- Rules given only to the manager and not to the people at the stove
- Too many rules. With twenty rules, nobody remembers any of them
Further reading
If you want to link the rules to a full plan, start with the HACCP plan example. For the records that go with the rules, see HACCP lists for hospitality. If you want to understand the basis of the rules, read the hygiene code and HACCP.
Frequently asked questions about kitchen rules
How often should I go through the rules with staff?
When someone starts and at least once a year after that. Also discuss the rules that change after every change to the plan or the kitchen.
May I put the rules up in another language?
Yes, as long as all staff can understand them. For staff who do not speak the language well, an explanation with pictures or an instruction from the head chef helps.
Who is responsible if a rule is not followed?
The business owner is ultimately responsible. In practice, they usually appoint a head chef for the HACCP system. This person makes sure the rules are explained, checks that they are followed, and changes the method if a rule does not work in practice.
Sources
- NVWA: Working according to the HACCP system
- Hygiene code and HACCP, for the sector codes the kitchen rules come from
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 , Annex II on hygiene of staff and premises