Topic 6 Business obligations and own-checks (HACCP)

Food safety does not depend only on what each person does: the business has to organise it, put it in writing and check that it works. This topic explains who is responsible for what, what own-checks are and what your role in them is.

The food business is responsible

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 states that the primary responsibility for food safety lies with the food business operator: the bar, the restaurant, the shop, the food workshop or the factory (Article 1). The health authorities of the autonomous communities and of local councils check that the rules are followed.

Training for food handlers

• The business must ensure that food handlers are supervised and trained in food hygiene in line with their work activity (Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter XII).
• Since 2010 the old food handler document no longer exists and there is no single standard form of certificate: Spanish Royal Decree 109/2010 repealed the previous rules on food handlers and the authorisation of training providers.
• According to the criteria that the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) agreed with the autonomous communities, training can be given by the business itself or by a training provider, it needs no prior authorisation and there is no single model of proof of training. Each business decides what training each job needs and includes it in its plan.
• During an inspection, inspectors can check the business’s training plan, the proof of training and, above all, whether the worker applies what they know: they may ask you questions directly.

Food safety culture

Since 2021 the regulation has required businesses to have a food safety culture: management must be committed, all staff must know the hazards in their work and their role in avoiding them, there must be open communication so that problems can be reported, and there must be enough training and supervision (Annex II, Chapter XIa, added by Regulation (EU) 2021/382). In practice: reporting a mistake is not telling tales, it is part of the job.

Own-checks and HACCP

Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires businesses to apply permanent procedures based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). It is an organised way of thinking about what can go wrong at each step and how to prevent it. Its seven principles are:

1. Identify the hazards that must be prevented, eliminated or reduced.
2. Identify the critical control points: the steps where control is essential (for example, cooking chicken or cooling a stew).
3. Set critical limits at those points: the line between what is acceptable and what is not (for example, a temperature).
4. Monitor those points: measure and check.
5. Take corrective action when something goes outside the limit.
6. Verify regularly that the system works.
7. Document and record all of the above.

The regulation allows it to be applied flexibly, depending on the size and activity of the business: a small bar is not asked for the same as a factory (recital 15).

Prerequisite programmes

Before HACCP itself, the business has a hygiene foundation that must also be in writing, often called prerequisite programmes or general hygiene plans. The most common are:

• Drinking water.
• Cleaning and disinfection.
• Pest control.
• Food handler training.
• Maintenance of premises and equipment (including thermometers).
• Control of suppliers and incoming goods.
• Temperature control.
• Traceability.
• Allergen management.
• Waste management.

Traceability and product withdrawal

The business must be able to say who it received each food or ingredient from and which businesses it has supplied its products to: “one step back and one step forward” (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18). If a product may be dangerous, it must be withdrawn and the authorities must be informed (Article 19). This is why delivery notes, batch labels and not mixing unidentified products are important.

Your role in own-checks

• Know and follow the procedures for your job: how things are cleaned, at what temperature food is stored, how each dish is prepared.
• Fill in records truthfully (fridge temperatures, cleaning, receipt of goods). A made-up record is worse than an empty one: it hides problems.
• If something is not normal, act and report it: a fridge showing 9 °C, a product in bad condition, a customer complaint. Apply the planned corrective action or ask what it is.
• Tell your supervisor if you are ill or have a wound (topic 2).
• Ask about anything you do not know. Nobody expects you to know everything; they do expect you not to make things up.

What this certificate is and what it is not

When you pass the exam you can download a private training certificate issued by Nuvola Studio SL. It serves as proof of the training you have received, which the business can add to its training plan. It is not issued or backed by any public authority, and it is the business that decides whether this training is enough for each job or whether additional specific training is needed (for example, in prepared meals for groups or in the particular way the premises work).