Every answer at a glance
The checker reads these rules from the FDA Food Code 2022. Here they are in one table, so you can see the whole map.
| What you do | What you need | Food Code | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sous vide | HACCP plan | 3-502.12(D), 8-201.13(B) | Sous vide needs a HACCP plan given to your health department before you start. Food stays in your business, is cooled in the bag and stored under one of four options (for example 41°F or less for no more than 7 days). |
| Cook-chill | HACCP plan | 3-502.12(D), 8-201.13(B) | Cook-chill needs a HACCP plan given to your health department before you start. Food stays in your business, is cooled in the bag and stored under one of four options (for example 41°F or less for no more than 7 days). |
| Vacuum packing, kept longer | HACCP plan | 3-502.12(B), 8-201.13(B) | Vacuum packing food you keep longer needs a HACCP plan: held at 41°F or less, a second barrier for each food, and a shelf life of no more than 30 days. |
| Vacuum packing, opened within 48 hours | No plan needed | 3-502.12(F) | No HACCP plan is needed if every package is labeled with the time and date, held at 41°F or less and opened within 48 hours of packing. |
| Vacuum packing fish | HACCP plan | 3-502.12(C), 3-502.12(B) | Fish may only be vacuum packed if it is frozen before, during and after packing and labeled keep frozen. Then it needs a HACCP plan. |
| Vacuum packing cheese | HACCP plan | 3-502.12(E) | Commercially made hard, semisoft or pasteurized process cheese with nothing added can be vacuum packed under a HACCP plan, with a use-by date no more than 30 days out. |
| Sushi rice held with vinegar | Variance + HACCP plan | 3-502.11(C), 8-201.13(A)(2) | Adding vinegar so rice can sit at room temperature needs a variance based on a HACCP plan. Each batch must test below pH 4.2. |
| Sushi rice used within 4 hours | No plan needed | 3-501.19 | Sushi rice used or thrown out within 4 hours under written procedures (time as a public health control) needs no variance or plan. |
| Curing meat or fish | Variance + HACCP plan | 3-502.11(B), 8-201.13(A)(2) | Curing food needs a variance based on a HACCP plan. |
| Smoking to preserve | Variance + HACCP plan | 3-502.11(A), 8-201.13(A)(2) | Smoking food to preserve it needs a variance based on a HACCP plan. Cold smoking always gets a review by a food safety reviewer. |
| Smoking for flavor, then cooked | No plan needed | 3-502.11(A) | Smoking only for flavor, then cooking, cooling and holding the food as usual, needs no variance. |
The rule behind it
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.13(A)Before engaging in an activity that requires a HACCP PLAN, a PERMIT applicant or PERMIT HOLDER shall submit to the REGULATORY AUTHORITY for approval a properly prepared HACCP PLAN as specified under § 8-201.14 and the relevant provisions of this Code if:
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.13(B)Before engaging in REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING without a VARIANCE as specified under § 3-502.12, a PERMIT applicant or PERMIT HOLDER shall submit a properly prepared HACCP PLAN to the REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
The first sentence covers every process that needs a variance under 3-502.11. The second covers vacuum packing, sous vide and cook-chill done the 3-502.12 way, which needs a plan but no variance. Read what goes in a HACCP plan or the Food Code sections that matter.
Frequently asked questions
When is a HACCP plan required?
Under the FDA Food Code 2022, a restaurant needs a HACCP plan before it starts a process that needs a variance (8-201.13(A)), or before it does reduced oxygen packaging without one (8-201.13(B)). In a restaurant that mostly means sous vide, cook-chill, vacuum packing food you keep past 48 hours, acidified sushi rice, curing and smoking to preserve.
Which special process requires a HACCP plan?
Every process listed in 3-502.11 needs a variance, and each variance needs a HACCP plan: smoking to preserve (A), curing (B), adding vinegar or other additives to preserve food or make it non-TCS (C), reduced oxygen packaging outside 3-502.12 (D), operating a shellfish tank (E), custom processing animals (F), and sprouting seeds or beans (H). Reduced oxygen packaging under 3-502.12, including sous vide and cook-chill, needs a HACCP plan without a variance.
Which practice requires a variance based on a HACCP plan?
Curing, smoking to preserve, and acidifying food such as sushi rice so it can be held without temperature control are the common restaurant ones (3-502.11(A) to (C)). Cooking poultry or other food below the Food Code times and temperatures for a menu item also needs a variance under 3-401.11(D)(4). How the low-temperature variance works.
Is a HACCP plan the same as a variance?
No. A variance is written permission from your regulatory authority to do something the Food Code otherwise does not allow. The HACCP plan is the document that shows how you control the hazards. For the 3-502.11 processes you submit both: the variance request includes the HACCP plan (8-103.11(C)).
Does my state follow these rules?
Most states use an FDA Food Code edition, but not all the same one, and many cities and counties add their own forms or fees. The checker tells you which edition the FDA report lists for your state. See every state, then confirm with your health department before you start.
Is this answer legal advice?
No. It is a plain reading of the FDA Food Code 2022 for the answers you gave. Your regulatory authority decides what your kitchen needs.
Sources
This checker is a plain reading of the FDA Food Code 2022. Your state or county may run an older edition or add its own rules, and only your regulatory authority approves a HACCP plan or grants a variance. It is not legal advice.