In this guide 6 sections
HACCP is a method for controlling hazards, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS are certification schemes built around it. All three want hazard analysis, monitoring records, corrective actions and verification. The schemes add management, supplier and site requirements. One well organised record set can serve all three audits.
HACCP is the method underneath both schemes
HACCP asks you to list hazards at each step, decide which steps are critical control points and set a limit for each. Cooking time, metal detection and chilling are common examples.
The records follow from that. You monitor each control point, note the reading, and act when a limit is missed. Then you verify that the system works, for instance by checking instrument calibration.
On its own, HACCP is a way of working rather than a certificate. The schemes below turn it into something an outside auditor can certify.
- Hazard analysis by process step
- Critical limits and monitoring readings
- Corrective action when a limit is missed
- Verification and calibration records
FSSC 22000 adds a management system
FSSC 22000 builds on ISO 22000, which is a management system standard, together with prerequisite programmes for the sector. So you record how the system is run, not only what happens on the line.
Expect management review minutes, internal audit reports, training records and a documented food defence and food fraud assessment. Prerequisite programmes such as cleaning, pest control and maintenance need their own logs.
Where HACCP speaks about hazards, this scheme also asks whether the organisation is managing the system itself.
BRCGS focuses on site standards and culture
BRCGS Food Safety is a retailer-driven standard. It requires a HACCP plan, but it also grades the site: hygiene, layout, allergen handling, product testing and traceability.
Auditors often ask for a traceability test and a mass balance. Pick a finished lot, show every ingredient lot used, and show that the weights add up. Gaps in that exercise are common findings.
The standard also asks for evidence of food safety culture, such as how staff report problems and how management responds.
- Traceability test and mass balance
- Allergen changeover and cleaning verification
- Supplier approval and monitoring
- Product inspection and testing results
- Internal audit and corrective action log
Where the three overlap, keep one record
Most plants answer the same questions three times. Supplier approval, calibration, cleaning verification and corrective actions appear in every scheme. Keep one log for each and tag it to the clauses it satisfies.
The difference is mostly in the extras. FSSC 22000 asks for management system evidence, BRCGS for site and culture evidence, and HACCP for hazard control evidence.
A simple matrix with record names down the side and schemes across the top shows what covers what, and what is still missing.
How software keeps the evidence audit ready
Paper logs fail in the same ways. A signature is missing, a sheet is misfiled or a reading was copied later. Software can require a reading before a batch moves on, and can alert the supervisor when a limit is missed.
It also stores calibration due dates, supplier certificates and corrective actions against the lot they relate to. Mass balance and mock recall then come from a search, not a week of folders.
Start by building the matrix described above. Mark every record that lives on paper, and pick the one an auditor asked for last time.
Scheme-to-record matrix
Record names run down the left side of this single-page grid, such as monitoring logs, calibration, supplier approval, internal audit, mass balance and corrective action. Three columns mark HACCP, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS. A fourth column names the owner, a fifth shows where the record lives, and a sixth flags gaps.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Is HACCP a certification?
No. HACCP is a method, though some auditors certify against it. FSSC 22000 and BRCGS are the certification schemes that include it.
Which scheme do buyers usually ask for?
It depends on the buyer. Retailers often name BRCGS, while multinational manufacturers frequently accept FSSC 22000. Ask your buyer which one they recognise.
Can one set of records serve all three audits?
Largely yes. Supplier, calibration, cleaning and corrective action records repeat across schemes. Each scheme adds a few extras you must keep separately.
What is a mass balance test?
You take one finished lot, list the ingredient lots used, and check that weights in and out reconcile within a stated tolerance. It proves your traceability holds up.