What is HACCP?

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and is a tool for identifying hazards, establishing critical limits, and implementing extensive, ongoing record keeping procedures.

If you are going to partake in certain high risk procedures (listed below) in your retail establishment, you may be required to have a HACCP plan approved by your local regulatory authority prior to beginning.

If your health inspector discovers that you are utilizing one of the defined high risk procedures without an approved HACCP plan it is likely that they will require you to stop the procedure and begin the process of getting an approved HACCP plan.

The approval process can be time consuming, tedious, and frustrating. It is something that even though HACCP procedures are logical and are a great tool for protecting your business, it is something that a lot of business owners simply don’t have the time to do.

We at Finley Food & Beverage Consulting are experts in which procedures require HACCP plans as well as the approval process for most jurisdictions. Many companies that write HACCP plans, simply write the plans and rely on you the business owner to go through the approval process yourself.

As a former health inspector, it makes sense that we go through the approval process for you (saving you hours of time).

We will provide simple and easy to use logs that make it easy for your staff to understand their role in utilizing the HACCP plan in your establishment.

We pride ourselves in being able to help local business owners through the approval process with little to no effort on your part. Being through the approval process many times, it makes sense to have us jump through the hoops for you.

After the plans are approved we will walk you through the ins and outs of what you need to know, what records you need to keep, and what to expect when the health inspector checks to see how you are utilizing your plans.

When are HACCP Plans Required?

Some companies chose to be proactive and write HACCP plans for procedures that do not require them, but at minimum you must have an approved HACCP plan if you are going to engage in the following procedures:

(1) Packaging fresh juice on-site for sale at a later time, unless the juice has a warning label that complies with local regulations.

(2) Smoking food as a way to preserve or alter the food so that it no longer needs time and temperature control for safety.

(3) Using food additives or adding components such as vinegar to preserve or alter the food so that it no longer needs time and temperature control for safety.

(4) Curing food

(5) Custom-processing animals for personal use. For example, a hunter brings a deer to a restaurant for dressing and takes the meat home for later use.

(6) Packaging food using a reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) method. This includes MAP. vacuum-packed, and sous vide food.

(7) Sprouting seeds or beans.

(8) Offering live shellfish from a display tank.

We understand that reading this list may pose more questions than it answers. We are happy to answer those questions. You always have to begin the process somewhere. Reach out today to set up a free HACCP consultation. Give Laura a call or send her a text at (406)600-7919.

Pricing and How to Begin

HACCP approval packages begin at $3,250 per plan. This estimation is based on the normal timeline for approval which we base on 10 hours of work. To begin the process we will send you an invoice for the $3,250.

Packages includes everything except for application fees that vary between regulatory authorities. Fees range from $0 - $600 in our experience. We will fill out all the applications for you and when it is time to submit we will have you pay any application fees that apply.

In the event that your plan is going to require more hours than the typical plan we will let you know that we are approaching the 10 hours and we will invoice you for any additional time that is needed.

We are very communicative throughout the process and in order for things to move quickly and efficiently we will ask that establishments that we partner with be responsive as well.

To get started please fill out the form below. There is no commitment until we discuss payment. General questions welcome!