Critical control point examples include cooking, chilling, cooling, hot holding, allergen controls, acidification, and metal detection. These process steps are designed to prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to an acceptable level.
Identifying the correct critical control points (CCPs) is one of the most important parts of developing a HACCP plan. The exact CCPs used by a restaurant, care home, or central kitchen will vary depending on the hazards present and the processes used.
Understanding common critical control point examples makes it easier to identify which controls are necessary to keep food safe and maintain HACCP compliance.
A critical control point is a process step where a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to an acceptable level.
Examples of critical control points include:
CCPs are identified during hazard analysis and form part of a wider HACCP food safety management system. Each CCP must control a specific biological, chemical, physical, or allergen hazard.
If you're developing a HACCP plan, understanding the relationship between hazards, CCPs, critical limits, monitoring procedures, and corrective actions is essential. Our guides on HACCP, HACCP principles, and how to write a HACCP plan explain this process in greater detail.
Food safety teams identify CCPs by conducting a hazard analysis and evaluating where hazards can be controlled most effectively.
A process step is usually classified as a CCP when:
Activities such as cleaning, pest control, supplier approval, maintenance, and staff training support food safety through prerequisite programmes (PRPs). These controls provide the foundation for HACCP and help prevent hazards before they reach critical stages.
Digital cleaning checklists improve cleaning consistency, reduce missed tasks, and provide a real-time record for audits and compliance.
A CCP decision tree is commonly used to help HACCP teams make these decisions consistently.
| Hazard type | Common CCP examples |
|---|---|
| Biological | Cooking, chilling, cooling, freezing, hot holding |
| Chemical | Acidification, preservative control, packaging verification |
| Physical | Metal detection, sieving, filtration, visual inspection |
| Allergen | Ingredient verification, allergen separation, label checks |
The most common critical control points are cooking, chilling, cooling, hot holding, allergen controls, acidification, and metal detection.
These CCPs control the hazards most frequently associated with foodborne illness, contamination incidents, allergen recalls, and customer complaints.
Cooking controls harmful microorganisms. Chilling and cooling control bacterial growth. Hot holding prevents food entering the temperature danger zone. Allergen controls prevent cross-contact and labelling errors. Metal detection removes physical contamination before products reach consumers.
The exact CCPs used in a food business depend on the results of the hazard analysis and the hazards associated with the products being produced.
Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and moulds that can cause foodborne illness.
Many CCPs are designed specifically to control biological hazards because microorganisms are one of the leading causes of food safety incidents.
Cooking is one of the most common critical control point examples because it reduces or eliminates harmful microorganisms before food is served or distributed.
For many poultry products, a core temperature of at least 75°C is used to achieve pathogen reduction. Equivalent validated time-temperature combinations may also be used.
Common cooking CCPs include:
A digital cooking log helps teams record cooking temperatures accurately and on time, while giving food safety leaders real-time visibility into compliance across all sites.
Cooking is frequently identified as a CCP because it may be the final opportunity to control pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli.
For example, roasting chicken in a hospital kitchen serves a food safety purpose because the process is intended to reduce microbiological hazards before service.
Monitoring usually involves temperature checks, calibrated probe thermometers, and documented cooking records.
Cold storage is commonly used as a CCP because temperatures below 8°C slow bacterial growth and help maintain food safety during storage and distribution.
Many food businesses operate refrigeration systems between 0°C and 5°C to provide additional control.
Products commonly controlled through chilled storage include:
Temperature monitoring is particularly important for restaurant groups, care homes, hospitals, food-to-go operators, and central kitchens where large volumes of food are stored.
Failure to maintain safe storage temperatures can allow bacterial populations to increase to unsafe levels.
Cooling is a CCP when cooked food is prepared in advance and stored for later use.
The objective of cooling is to move food through the temperature danger zone as quickly as possible to minimise bacterial growth.
Examples include:
Common cooling methods include:
Monitoring cooling times and temperatures helps verify that products reach safe storage temperatures within established limits.
A digital cooling log helps teams monitor food cooling temperatures consistently, ensuring food passes through the temperature danger zone safely and within required time limits.
Hot holding is commonly identified as a CCP because maintaining food above 63°C prevents bacterial growth during service.
Examples include:
Food held below 63°C may enter thetemperature danger zone where bacteria can multiply rapidly.
Monitoring hot holding temperatures helps ensure food remains safe throughout service.
Chemical hazards include cleaning chemicals, food additives, naturally occurring toxins, allergens, and contaminants that may make food unsafe.
Acidification is a common CCP because acidity can prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms.
Examples include:
Ingredients such as vinegar, citric acid, and lactic acid help create conditions that limit microbial growth.
Monitoring pH levels ensures products remain within validated safety limits.
Additives are often used to maintain product safety and shelf life.
Examples include:
Monitoring confirms additives remain within approved limits and continue to provide the intended safety function.
Packaging materials can introduce chemical hazards if they are unsuitable for food contact.
Examples include:
This is particularly important for acidic products and extended shelf-life foods.
Physical hazards include foreign materials that may injure consumers or contaminate products.
Metal detection is one of the most common CCPs used to control physical contamination.
Examples include:
These controls help identify:
Many food manufacturers use automated detection systems because they provide consistent monitoring and verification.
Storage and transport controls can also function as CCPs when they protect products from contamination before distribution.
Examples include:
These controls help maintain food integrity throughout the supply chain.
A digital receiving log helps teams verify and record deliveries consistently, ensuring food is received at safe temperatures and from approved suppliers.
Allergen controls are among the most important CCPs in many food businesses because even small amounts of an allergen can trigger serious reactions.
Ingredient verification confirms that allergen declarations match approved specifications.
Examples include:
Allergen separation prevents cross-contact during storage and production.
Examples include:
Cleaning verification confirms equipment is suitable for allergen-free production.
Examples include:
FoodDocs gives you an overview of the allergens by automatically generating an allergy matrix and keeps it regularly updated with any changes you make to ensure food safety in your kitchen.
Label checks confirm that allergen information is accurate before products reach consumers.
Examples include:
For many businesses, label verification represents the final opportunity to prevent an allergen incident.
A CCP decision tree is a HACCP tool used to determine whether a process step should be classified as a critical control point.
The decision tree guides food safety teams through a series of questions that evaluate:
Using a decision tree helps ensure CCP decisions are consistent, evidence-based, and aligned with HACCP principles.
For example, marinating chicken may reduce surface contamination, but roasting the chicken provides the validated pathogen reduction step. In this scenario, roasting would typically be identified as the CCP.
Failure to meet a critical limit means the process is no longer under control and food safety may be compromised.
Examples include:
When a CCP deviation occurs, food safety teams should:
Corrective action procedures should be documented within the HACCP plan and supported by monitoring and verification records.
Digital corrective action tools guide staff through the required steps, reducing delays and ensuring issues are resolved correctly. If a task is out of range, a prompt will guide your team on how to respond, ensuring food safety and saving time on training.
Monitoring CCPs consistently is often more challenging than identifying them.
Digital food safety software such as FoodDocs helps food safety teams standardise monitoring, improve record keeping, and maintain visibility across multiple locations.
FoodDocs can help teams:
Digital monitoring also helps reduce missed checks and saves food safety leaders time on supervision, training, and record reviews.