Critical Control Points (CCPs)
Specific steps in a food production process where controls can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to acceptable levels.
A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a step in the food handling process where a control measure can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level. CCPs are a fundamental part of the HACCP system and represent the points where you must monitor and record to ensure food safety. Common CCPs in hospitality include cooking (ensuring food reaches safe core temperatures), chilling (ensuring food is cooled quickly enough), hot holding (keeping food at 63°C or above), and cold storage (maintaining fridge temperatures between 0°C and 5°C). Each CCP must have a defined critical limit, a monitoring procedure, and a corrective action to take if the limit is exceeded.
Key Points
- CCPs are the specific steps where controls prevent or eliminate hazards
- Every CCP must have a measurable critical limit based on evidence
- Monitoring must be recorded with time, reading, and who checked
- Corrective actions must be defined and documented for each CCP
- Common hospitality CCPs: cooking, chilling, hot holding, cold storage
Identifying CCPs
Identifying CCPs requires working through your food handling processes step by step and asking at each stage whether a control at this point is essential to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. The HACCP decision tree is a widely used tool for this purpose. Not every step in your process is a CCP. For example, receiving deliveries is a control point (you check temperatures), but if food that arrives too warm can be rejected rather than made safe, it is a control point rather than a critical control point. Cooking is almost always a CCP because it is the step where harmful bacteria are killed by heat.
Setting Critical Limits
Every CCP must have a measurable critical limit that separates acceptable from unacceptable. Critical limits must be based on scientific evidence or regulatory requirements, not arbitrary decisions. For cooking, the critical limit is typically a core temperature of 70°C for 2 minutes or 75°C instantaneously. For cold storage, the critical limit is a maximum of 8°C (though best practice is 5°C). For hot holding, the critical limit is a minimum of 63°C. Critical limits must be clearly documented and understood by all staff who monitor CCPs.
Monitoring and Corrective Actions
Monitoring involves checking at defined intervals that each CCP is within its critical limits. This might mean checking cooking temperatures with a probe thermometer, checking fridge temperatures every morning, or checking hot-holding temperatures before service. Monitoring must be recorded with the time, the reading, and who took it. If monitoring reveals that a critical limit has been exceeded, a corrective action must be taken immediately. This might mean continuing to cook food until it reaches the safe temperature, disposing of food that has been in the danger zone too long, or adjusting equipment. The corrective action and its outcome must be recorded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CCPs should a restaurant have?
There is no fixed number. The number of CCPs depends on your menu, processes, and the hazards present. A simple cafe might have 3-4 CCPs (cooking, chilling, cold storage, reheating). A large restaurant with complex preparations might have 6-8. The key is to identify only the genuinely critical points, not to create unnecessary ones.
What is the difference between a CCP and a control point?
A control point is any step where good practice controls a hazard but is not the last opportunity to prevent it. A CCP is the step where the control is essential and is the last point where the hazard can be managed. For example, washing vegetables is a control point, but cooking a chicken to 75°C is a CCP because it is the step that kills Salmonella.
Who should monitor CCPs?
Any trained member of staff can monitor CCPs as long as they understand what they are checking, what the critical limits are, and what corrective action to take if limits are exceeded. Training on CCP monitoring should be documented. Many businesses assign CCP checks to specific roles or shifts.
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