Dairy HACCP Plan Templates & Examples for Compliance

Identify food safety hazards, set critical limits, and document procedures with our customizable dairy HACCP template and AI HACCP builder.

Create an FDA-compliant HACCP plan for raw, pasteurized, cultured, or frozen dairy products.

Dairy HACCP plan

Introduction
Dairy HACCP Plan Examples

Dairy products currently fall under the regulatory rules of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Human Food.

Here, you will find guidance on developing a food safety plan for dairy products to achieve FDA compliance.

Who Needs Dairy HACCP Plan Templates?

Dairy processors and retailers selling packaged dairy

What Products Do Our Dairy HACCP Templates Cover?

Dairy

Milk (pasteurized and raw)

Butter (salted and unsalted)

Cheese products

Custard products

Cream cheese

Dairy-based desserts

Dry milk powders

Eggs

Ice cream

Sour cream

Yogurt

Whey

Don’t see your product? Our team can create a custom plan to match your operations.

Building a Complete Food Safety System with HACCP

A HACCP plan is vital to your food safety system, but is not the only part. Prerequisite programs, such as GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices), must be in place to support your HACCP plan.

The regulation (117 Subpart B) mandates safe food processing practices under sanitary conditions, including:

HACCP Consulting

Sanitary operations

Sanitary facilities & controls

Equipment & Utensils

Processes & controls

Plant & grounds

Defect action level considerations

Warehousing & distribution

Industry Leaders Who Already Use Our HACCP Plan Templates

Thanks Danks

Gabriel’s Bakery

eurobake

Process Flow

Example Dairy Processing Steps

Q
What does a HACCP plan look like?

A
The process flow of a food safety plan (HACCP) is the center of a food product’s food safety story. It tells how a company makes its products and what hazards and controls are associated with each step.

Here's an example process flow for for Greek yogurt:

Greek yogurt HACCP plan template

Steps:

1.
Receiving of raw milk

2.
Storage

3.
Pasteurization

4.
Holding

5.
Homogenization

6.
Cooling

7.
Receiving cultures

8.
Freezer storage

9.
Inoculation and fermentation

10.
Filtration

11.
Holding tanks

12.
Metal detection

13.
Packaging storage

14.
Labeling

15.
Storage

16.
Product dispatch

Suggested
Logs and Records

Monitoring records and logs must include the actual values or observations that document the actual implementation of a Food Safety Plan.

For example, it should be the exact temperature recorded, not just a checkmark that the temperature complied with the critical limit.

To comply with regulations, you must record the information when you observe it.

Suggested
Supply Chain Documents

The safety of your product goes beyond your facility.

If an ingredient has a history of association with a specific hazard, a supply chain program may be required to control that risk within your food safety plan.

 

Many companies also implement broader supplier programs to monitor performance and ensure compliance beyond food safety.

Here is a list of suggested documents to obtain from your supply chain:

Potential Hazards

Biological
Chemical
Physical
Listeria monocytogenes
Undeclared allergens (e.g., milk, egg)
Metal fragments
Staphylococcus aureus
Residual pesticides
Plastic or rubber
Salmonella (if eggs used)
Biological:
Brucella spp.
Listeria monocytogenes
Campylobacter spp.
Pathogenic E. coli
Salmonella spp.
Chemical:
Unintentional or incidental chemical contamination
Environmental chemical contaminants
Toxic elements and compounds
Vitamin Toxicity
Drug residues
Physical:
External contamination from rainwater, bird droppings, vermin/rodents, or flying insects
Stones.
Glass (when the product is packed in glass)
Dust and debris
Metal

Suggested Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

SOPs are related to GMPs and controls of hazards in a food safety plan.

SOPs define the steps of how GMPs and Controls of Hazards mitigate food safety hazards and define a repeatable process.

Additional Components for Compliance (Recommended)

The following associated food safety components are recommended to achieve compliance with State and Federal rules and regulations.

Recall Plan

According to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation requires a written Recall Plan when a hazard analysis identifies a hazard requiring a preventive control.

Recalls are actions an establishment takes to remove an adulterated, misbranded, or violative product from the market.

In other words, a product for which the FDA or a state could take legal action against the company would be recalled.

Verification

Verification is essential to the supply chain, sanitation, allergen, and critical controls. It confirms that the HACCP Plan is operating as intended.

Validation confirms the effectiveness of the HACCP Plan. The purpose of verification is to make sure that the HACCP Plan is:

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