A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a step in the production process where control can be applied and is essential to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level. The distinction between a Control Point (CP) and a CCP is fundamental to HACCP: CPs manage quality or regulatory issues but are not essential for food safety, while CCPs are strictly reserved for hazards that must be controlled to ensure product safety. The determination of CCPs requires a thorough understanding of the process and the significance of each identified hazard.
CCP determination is typically performed using a decision tree, a logical sequence of questions applied to each hazard identified at each process step. The Codex Alimentarius decision tree asks whether control measures exist at the step, whether the step is specifically designed to eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level, whether contamination could occur at unacceptable levels, and whether a subsequent step will eliminate or reduce the hazard. The decision tree must be applied flexibly, with sound scientific judgment, as it is a tool rather than a substitute for expert knowledge.
Critical limits are measurable parameters that define the boundary between safe and unsafe product at each CCP. Typical critical limits include minimum internal cooking temperature and holding time for pathogen destruction, maximum storage temperature for preventing spore germination and toxin formation, minimum pH for inhibiting pathogen growth, minimum water activity (aw) for preventing microbial growth, maximum salt concentration, and chlorine levels for wash water sanitation. Critical limits must be scientifically validated and documented with reference to regulatory standards, published research, or challenge studies.
Examples of CCPs across different food operations include: cooking of poultry patties to an internal temperature of 74°C for 15 seconds, metal detection of finished product with rejection of ferrous and non-ferrous metal fragments ≥ 2 mm, rapid cooling of cooked products from 60°C to 10°C within 4 hours to prevent spore germination, and acidification of canned products to pH 4.6 or below to control Clostridium botulinum. Each CCP must have one or more critical limits, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, and verification activities defined in the HACCP plan. CCPs are determined within the HACCP framework after completing the hazard analysis. For thermal processes, critical limits are established based on commercial sterilization principles.
