Reduced Oxygen Packaging (ROP) HACCP Plan Template Examples for Compliance

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

Create an FDA-approved ROP HACCP plan for food products in reduced oxygen vacuum packaging.

Introduction
ROP HACCP Plan Guidelines

The FDA has strict guidelines for ROP packaging and mandates a HACCP plan for all food companies using this method.
Here, you will find how to develop a HACCP plan for reduced-oxygen packaged foods that meets FDA requirements.

Who Needs a HACCP Plan for ROP?

The FDA indicates that any establishment using the ROP method should have a HACCP plan. For example:

What ROP HACCP templates will you find?

Reduced Oxygen Packaging

Meat / Poultry Soup

Fish/Seafood

Raw Intact Meat/Poultry

Smoked Salmon

Sous Vide

Sous Vide Fish & Seafood

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

Building a Complete ROP 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. USDA Section 402(a)(3) 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 ROP Method 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 ROP hazards and controls are associated with each step.

Here's an example process flow for reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) or sous vide:

Steps:

1.
Receiving raw meat and non-meat ingredients

2.
Receiving packaging materials

3.
Storage

4.
Thawing

5.
Cutting/Trimming

6.
Waste disposal

7.
Meat preparation

8.
Labeling

9.
Vacuum Packaging (ROP)

10.
Cooling

11.
Cold Storage

12.
Reheat

13.
Serving

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

Beef
Chicken
Salmon
Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella​
Psychotrophs – Listeria monocytogenes
Biological – Bacillus cereus
Enterobacteriacae – Escherichia coli O157:H7​
Proteobacteria – Campylobacter jejuni
Biological – Parasites- Anisakis
Proteobacteria – Campylobacter jejuni​
Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella
Biological – Toxin from C. botulinum bacteria
Parasites – Taenia saginata​
Spore formers – Clostridium perfringens
Psychotrophs – Listeria monocytogenes
Bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus
Environmental chemical contaminants
Environmental chemical contaminants
Anthelmintics
Antibiotics
Allergens
Antibiotics
Anthelmintics
Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella sp
Environmental chemical contaminants
-
-
Beef:
Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella
Enterobacteriacae – Escherichia coli O157:H7
Proteobacteria – Campylobacter jejuni
Parasites – Taenia saginata
Bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus
Anthelmintics
Antibiotics
Environmental chemical contaminants
Chicken:
Psychotrophs – Listeria monocytogenes
Proteobacteria – Campylobacter jejuni
Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella
Spore formers – Clostridium perfringens
Environmental chemical contaminants
Antibiotics
Anthelmintics
Salmon:
Biological – Bacillus cereus
Biological – Parasites- Anisakis
Biological – Toxin from C. botulinum bacteria
Psychotrophs – Listeria monocytogenes
Environmental chemical contaminants
Allergensv Enterobacteriacae – Salmonella sp

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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