What every plan contains
Plans are laid out in the order of section 8-201.14, so you can read them against the Code part by part.
(A) General information
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(A)General information such as the name of the PERMIT applicant or PERMIT HOLDER, the FOOD ESTABLISHMENT address, and contact information;
In a ClearHACCP plan: Cover page: legal and trading name, permit holder, address, county, permit number, phone, person in charge and the person who verifies, by name and title. A cover letter addressed to your agency.
(B) Categories of TCS food
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(B)A categorization of the types of TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS that are to be controlled under the HACCP PLAN;
In a ClearHACCP plan: Menu items grouped by process and food category (for example: raw beef, whole intact cuts, sealed raw, cooked sous vide). Each item is mapped by code; an unfamiliar item is confirmed by the operator or sent to a person.
(C) Flow diagram
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(C)A flow diagram or chart for each specific FOOD or category type that identifies:
In a ClearHACCP plan: One flow diagram per category, every step in order, critical control points marked, each CCP with its limit and section.
(D) Ingredients, equipment, procedural controls
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(D)The ingredients, recipes or formulations, materials and equipment used in the preparation of each specific FOOD or category type and methods and procedural control measures that address the FOOD safety concerns involved;
In a ClearHACCP plan: Recipes and formulations as entered, named equipment (sealer, circulator, chiller, monitored refrigeration, thermometer and pH meter with calibration method), separation of raw and ready-to-eat, no bare-hand contact, cleaning of food-contact surfaces and the sealer, labeling.
(E) Critical control points summary
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(E)A CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS summary for each specific FOOD or category type that clearly identifies:
In a ClearHACCP plan: A CCP table: hazard, critical limit with its Food Code section, who monitors, how and how often, corrective action, verification and records.
(F) Supporting documents
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(F)Supporting documents such as:
In a ClearHACCP plan: Training plan, blank copies of every log the kitchen will use, and a sources page listing every Food Code section and outside document the plan relies on.
(G) Anything else you require
FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14(G)Any other information required by the REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
In a ClearHACCP plan: Your comments. Send them to the operator; we revise within 2 business days at no charge to them.
Where a process needs a variance (3-502.11), the plan comes with a variance request letter laid out to 8-103.11 (A) to (C), prepared for the operator to submit. We never say a variance is granted.
How the numbers are sourced
Every critical limit, time and temperature comes from a fixed, versioned rule pack. Each number in a pack carries the verbatim Food Code sentence it comes from, and an automated check refuses any number not printed in its quote and any quote not found word for word in the FDA's own file. The section prints next to the number in the plan. For example, the first cooling stage reads 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, cited 3-501.14(A)(1):
FDA Food Code 2022, 3-501.14(A)(1)Within 2 hours from 57ºC (135ºF) to 21ºC (70°F)
- AI only phrases descriptive sentences inside a fixed structure. It never sets or changes a number.
- Every plan records which pack and version it used. If a pack is corrected, affected plans are flagged and the operator is offered a revision.
- An answer outside Food Code limits is never smoothed over. The plan uses a Food Code limit, routes to a variance with human review, or refuses with the reason.
- Highly susceptible populations: no raw or undercooked options, and no low-temperature variance.
Human review of anything unusual
Answers that fall outside the usual (a cooking temperature below the Food Code chart, an item we cannot categorize, cold smoking) go to a person before the plan is released. Low-temperature cooking and cold-smoked fish are not offered until a qualified food safety reviewer has reviewed the rule packs.
The live view
Operators can give you a read-only link (or a QR code on the plan cover and a walk-in sticker) that shows the current plan, the CCP table and the last 90 days of logs, with every out-of-limit reading and the corrective action taken. The operator can revoke it any time, and every link expires after 90 days.
Report a problem with a plan
If a plan has a wrong number, a missing section, or anything that misstates the Code, please tell us. Include the plan's version line from the footer if you can. A person replies within one business day, and we fix the rule pack for every plan that used it.
Reviewing special-process plans? Operators can check what they need for free at clearhaccp.com/check.
Frequently asked questions
Does ClearHACCP approve or certify plans?
Which Food Code edition do plans use?
Is ClearHACCP connected to any health department?
Can an operator use ClearHACCP for a process you do not allow?
Sources
Every temperature, time and pH on this page is quoted from the FDA Food Code 2022 with its section number. 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. This page explains the rules in plain words; it is not legal advice.