Templates and records · BRCGS · Clause 2.12

BRCGS HACCP plan validation and review

Showing with data that the HACCP plan controls the hazards it claims to control, and reviewing it at least once a year or whenever something changes.

In one sentence

In BRCGS the HACCP plan validation and review documents, for each CCP, the evidence that its limits and controls eliminate or reduce the hazard, the verification activities confirming that the plan works and a full review of the plan at least once a year or whenever anything changes, as required by clauses 2.12 and 2.14 within the fundamental requirement on the HACCP plan.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: BRCGS · Clause 2.12 Clause references follow the numbering of BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9. If your audit is already against a later issue, check the correspondence on brcgs.com.
Type of information: Mandatory record Record to be retained (2.12 and 2.14, fundamental requirement 2)
Who fills it in: Multidisciplinary HACCP team Led by the team leader; senior management is aware of and approves changes
When: Before implementation and once a year Also before any change that could affect product safety
How long it is kept: Shelf life plus 12 months, at least BRCGS requires a retention period to be set taking into account legislation, the customer and the product's shelf life, and as a minimum records must be kept for the shelf life plus twelve months (3.3).

What the standard requires

What BRCGS demands and what it leaves to your judgement

BRCGS follows the twelve Codex steps and adds rigour to validation: before the plan is implemented and after any change, you must show that the critical limits and control measures are capable of controlling the hazards identified. The evidence can come from scientific studies, sector guidance, in-house trials or historical data.

Verification then confirms that the plan is still working: internal audits, review of monitoring records, deviations and complaints, product testing. The HACCP team reviews the whole plan at least once a year and whenever there is a change in raw material, recipe, process, equipment or legislation, or a new hazard emerges.

How the plan is built from the hazard analysis is explained in the HACCP templates; this sheet covers what BRCGS asks you to check and review.

Read it in context: Food safety plan (HACCP), in the BRCGS Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

CCP or control measure validated
Hazard and critical limit
Validation evidence: study, guidance, trial, reference
Verification activities, frequency and owner
Verification results for the period
Review trigger: annual, change, incident, new hazard
Changes made to the plan
Team members taking part and date

Example

Example: annual HACCP plan review at a fictitious cooked meats plant

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Trigger	Annual review · 14 February 2026
CCP-1 cooking	Validated with a heat penetration study on the largest-calibre product: 72 °C at the thermal centre for 2 min
CCP-2 cooling	Validation revisited after the blast chiller was replaced in November 2025: new trial with three full loads
Verification	12 months of records reviewed · 3 deviations with correct action · 0 safety complaints
New hazard	None; the sector alert on Listeria in cooked meats is reviewed and environmental sampling is stepped up
Changes	Probe thermometer verification moves from weekly to daily
Team	Quality, production, maintenance and R&D · signed by the HACCP team leader

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Critical limits copied from a guide without checking that they work for the actual product and equipment.
Equipment or recipe changes without revalidating the CCP affected.
The annual review amounts to changing the date on the document.
The HACCP team has no recorded training or does not include production.
Verification that does not review the year's complaints or deviations.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1The hazard analysis, the CCPs and their limits are maintained in the platform's HACCP plan, with version and approval.
2The year's monitoring records and deviations are linked to the CCP, so verification is done on complete data.
3The annual review is scheduled as a task for the HACCP team, with a reminder before it is due.
4An equipment or recipe change can open an action requiring the affected CCP to be revalidated.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is the difference between validating and verifying?

Validating means showing, before relying on it, that a control is capable of controlling the hazard. Verifying means checking afterwards, periodically, that it is applied as planned and still works.

Is a sector guide enough for validation?

It can be, if the guide applies to the specific product and process and the company justifies it. When the equipment, calibre or recipe falls outside what the guide covers, an in-house trial is needed.

When must the plan be reviewed outside the annual review?

Whenever there is a change that could affect safety: raw material or supplier, recipe, process, equipment, packaging, storage conditions, legislation, a serious incident or the emergence of a new hazard.

Keep your BRCGS records without loose templates

We'll show you the module running with data similar to yours.

Request a demo

Keep exploring

Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety, Issue 9 BRCGS · Published August 2022
General Principles of Food Hygiene, CXC 1-1969 Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO) · 2020 revision