HACCP plan
House-cured bacon
Prepared to FDA Food Code 2022, 8-201.14. Sample: your plan carries your business, your recipe and your equipment.
8-201.14(A) General information
- Business name
- ____________________
- Address
- ____________________
- Permit number
- __________
- Person in charge, title, phone
- ____________________
- Plan verified by (name, title)
- ____________________
8-201.14(B) Food categorization
- Food
- Pork belly, dry cured with nitrite, hot smoked
- Category
- Cured and cooked meat
- Why it is controlled
- Curing needs a variance; nitrite is toxic when overused and the cure must be weighed 3-502.11(B), Annex 6
8-201.14(C) Flow diagram
House-cured bacon
- 01 Receive belly 41°F or below
- 02 Weigh belly and cureCCP Per schedule; residual nitrite ≤ 200 ppm Annex 6, 3(A)
- 03 Apply cure, bag
- 04 Dry cure in walk-inCCP 35°F to 45°F Annex 6, 3(F)(3)
- 05 Rinse and dry
- 06 Hot smokeCCP 145°F for 15 s internal 3-401.11(A)(1)
- 07 CoolCCP 135°F to 70°F in 2 h, 41°F in 6 h 3-501.14(A)(1), 3-501.14(A)(2)
- 08 Cold hold, date mark 41°F, 7 days 3-501.17(A)
- 09 Slice, cook to order
8-201.14(D) Ingredients, equipment and procedures
Recipe (your amounts)
- Pork belly green weight: ____ kg
- Curing salt: product ____, nitrite ____ %, ____ g per kg (ingoing about 120 ppm is usually enough)
- Salt: ____ g per kg
- Sugar: ____ g per kg
Equipment
- Scale reading to the gram
- Food-grade bags or lugs
- Walk-in at the cure range
- Smoker
- Calibrated probe thermometer
Procedural controls
- A written cure schedule gives the exact cure weight for each weight of meat. Annex 6, 3(F)(3)
- Cure that is wet or looks wetted is thrown out. Annex 6, 3(F)(3)
- Curing is never used to save meat that is spoiling. Annex 6, 3(F)(3)
- Bellies cut to even sizes for even cure. Annex 6, 3(F)(3)
- Staff who cure show they know the curing guidelines. Annex 6, 3(F)(2)
8-201.14(E) Critical control points summary
| CCP | Significant hazard | Critical limit | Monitoring | If the limit is missed | Verification and records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formulation (weighing the cure) | Too much nitrite (toxic) or too little (C. botulinum not controlled) | Cure weighed to the written schedule for the green weight; finished residual nitrite not over 200 ppmAnnex 6, 3(A), Annex 6, 3(F)(3) | Cook weighs belly and cure for every batch and logs both weights; person in charge checks the math | Wrong weight or not logged: do not use the batch until the person in charge recalculates; if it cannot be shown right, discard | Scale checked with a test weight weekly; schedule reviewed when the cure product changesCure batch log |
| Dry cure (walk-in) | Pathogen growth if too warm; cure not working if too cold | Product between 35°F and 45°F for the whole cureAnnex 6, 3(F)(3) | Walk-in logged twice a day; product probed daily | Above the range: move, record time and temperature, person in charge decides under the plan. Below: extend the cure and note it | Probe thermometers checked for accuracy (±2°F, 4-203.11(B)) and loggedCold holding log |
| Hot smoke (cook) | Survival of pathogens and Trichinella | 145°F or above for 15 seconds, internal3-401.11(A)(1) | Probe the thickest belly at the end of the smoke; log smoker setting, time and product temperature | Below the limit: keep smoking or finish in an oven to the limit | Probe thermometers checked for accuracy (±2°F, 4-203.11(B)) and loggedCooking log |
| Cool | C. perfringens growth while cooling | 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours; to 41°F or less within 6 hours total3-501.14(A)(1), 3-501.14(A)(2) | Probe at 2 and 6 hours | Missed 70°F at 2 hours: reheat to 165°F and restart, or discard. Missed 41°F at 6 hours: discard | Person in charge signs the cooling logCooling log |
8-201.14(F) Supporting documents
Training
- Each person who cures is trained on the cure schedule, weighing, the cure range and the corrective actions, and it is written down.
- Annex 6 asks that staff who cure demonstrate familiarity with the curing guidelines and the hazards.
Records (blank logs attached to the plan)
- Cooking log
- Cooling log
- Cold holding log
- Thermometer calibration log
- Corrective action log
- HACCP verification log
Label
House bacon Batch ____
Cure date ____ Smoked ____
Discard by: day ____ (7 days)
8-201.14(G) Other information your regulatory authority asks for
Some health departments add their own forms, a fee, a lab test or a site visit. See what your state lists, then ask your plan reviewer before you start.