Distribution HACCP Plan Templates & Examples for Compliance

Identify food safety hazards, set critical limits, and document procedures with our customizable distribution HACCP plan templates and AI HACCP builder.

Create a USDA-approved HACCP plan for raw, cooked, or frozen distribution products.

Shelf-stable food distribution HACCP plan

Introduction
Distribution HACCP Plan Examples

Distributors must comply with the rules of local State Health Departments and the United States Food & Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Human Food.

Here, you will find how to develop a HACCP plan to achieve USDA compliance.

Who Can Use Distribution HACCP Plan Templates?

HACCP plans for distributors

What Products Do Our Distribution HACCP Templates Cover?

Distribution

Cold Chain

Shelf Stable Products

Worried about your special business needs? You can customize any template with FoodReady consultants.

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 Distribution Process Flow

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 general refrigerated distribution plan:

Distribution Cold Chain HACCP template

Steps:

1.
Product arrival

2.
Arrival checks

3.
Transfer to the ambient storage area

4.
Storage temperature checks

5.
Transfer of products onto a pallet

6.
Waste transfer to the designated area

7.
Final dispatch checks

8.
Shiping, etc.

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.
Here are suggested record and log types to use:

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
Escherichia coli STEC/VTEC, Listeria monocytogenes
Cleaning chemical residues in transport vehicles or storage areas
External contamination from rainwater, bird droppings, or flying insects
Penicillium expansum
Fuel or oil contamination from transport equipment
Foreign material contamination from outside sources
Yersinia enterocolita
Undeclared allergens
Broken pallets, splinters, or nails.
Salmonella spp.
-
Physical contamination by the operator/employee
Human pathogens
-
Packaging material fragments (glass, metal, plastic)
Cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat products
-
Foreign objects introduced during loading/unloading
Biological:
Escherichia coli STEC/VTEC, Listeria monocytogenes
Penicillium expansum
Staphylococcus aureus
Yersinia enterocolita
Salmonella spp.
Human pathogens
Cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat products
Chemical:
Cleaning chemical residues in transport vehicles or storage areas
Fuel or oil contamination from transport equipment
Undeclared allergens
Physical:
External contamination from rainwater, bird droppings, or flying insects.
Foreign material contamination from outside sources.
Physical contamination by the operator/employee.
Broken pallets, splinters, or nails.
Packaging material fragments (glass, metal, plastic).
Foreign objects introduced during loading/unloading.

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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