Food Hygiene and HACCP Course (EU): Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Food safety law and who is responsible

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2021 about 866 million people, almost 1 in 9 worldwide, fell ill from contaminated food. Good food hygiene prevents this.

The main EU laws

• Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, the General Food Law: basic principles, unsafe food, traceability, withdrawal and recall. It also set up the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which gives scientific advice. EFSA does not inspect businesses.
• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs: general hygiene rules for all food businesses, including HACCP. The EU hygiene rules have applied since 1 January 2006.
• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, including allergen information.
• Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls (inspections) by national authorities.

EU regulations apply directly in every Member State, but each country names its own competent authorities, which register businesses, carry out official controls and enforce the law. Each country sets the penalties, which must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Countries can also add national rules, for example on training or on how allergen information is shown. Always check the rules where you work.

Who is responsible

EU law says the food business operator has the primary responsibility for food safety. This is the person or company responsible for making sure food law is followed in the business they control. A food business is any undertaking, for profit or not, public or private, at any stage of production, processing or distribution of food, from restaurants and shops to school canteens and charity kitchens. Food handlers must follow the hygiene rules and the business's procedures and report illness and problems.

The operator must notify the competent authority of each establishment so it can be registered, and must keep the authority informed of significant changes, such as closing.

Unsafe food, traceability and recalls

• Food is unsafe if it is harmful to health or unfit for human consumption. Unsafe food must not be placed on the market.
• Traceability: every business must be able to identify who supplied it and which other businesses it supplied (not each shopper). Food must be labelled or identified so it can be traced.
• Withdrawal: if a business believes food it has supplied is unsafe, it must act at once to withdraw it from the market and inform the competent authorities.
• Recall: if the food may have reached consumers, the business must tell them why and recall the food if needed.
• The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) lets food safety authorities quickly share information on health risks from food. It began in 1979.

Training and food safety culture

Annex II of Regulation 852/2004 says food handlers must be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters to match their work. People who develop and maintain the business's HACCP-based procedures must be trained in HACCP principles. Businesses must also follow any national training rules for their sector. Your employer must train you in the procedures at your own workplace.

Since 2021, the EU hygiene rules also require a food safety culture. The operator must set up, keep and be able to show it. It includes management commitment and leadership, awareness of hazards, open communication so anyone can raise a concern, and enough resources.

Food sectors write national and EU guides to good hygiene practice to help businesses follow the rules. Using them is voluntary.

Quiz tematico 1: Food safety law and who is responsible

Lesson 2: Food hazards and allergens

EU law defines a hazard as a biological, chemical or physical agent in food, or a condition of food, that could harm health. Risk combines how likely harm is and how serious it would be.

Bacteria to know

• Campylobacter causes the most frequently reported foodborne illness in the EU. The most common source is undercooked chicken, and it also spreads when ready-to-eat food touches raw chicken.
• Salmonella causes the second most common zoonotic disease in the EU. It is most often found in eggs and raw meat from pigs, turkeys and chickens.
• Listeria monocytogenes is found in foods such as smoked fish, meats, soft cheeses and raw vegetables. Unlike many bacteria, it can multiply even at fridge temperatures. Illness is rare but often severe. Older people, pregnant women, newborns and people with weak immune systems are most at risk.

The 14 allergens

Allergic reactions can make people very ill and can sometimes cause death. EU law lists 14 allergens that must always be declared:

• Cereals containing gluten (wheat, including spelt and khorasan, rye, barley, oats)
• Crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk (including lactose)
• Tree nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios and macadamia nuts
• Celery, mustard, sesame seeds, lupin and molluscs
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre

Giving allergen information

• Prepacked food: allergens must be emphasised in the ingredient list, for example in bold, so they stand out.
• Non-prepacked food (restaurants, cafés, deli counters, food packed for direct sale): allergen information is mandatory. Each Member State can set how it must be given.
• Example from Ireland: FSAI guidance says to give allergen information in writing, using the word "contains", naming the cereal (such as wheat) and each nut (such as almonds), so customers can find it without having to ask.
• A "may contain" statement must never replace prevention. Use it only where a risk of cross-contact cannot be controlled, and never in a misleading way.

Preventing allergen cross-contact

• Since 2021, EU law says equipment, transport and storage containers used for an allergen must not be used for allergen-free food unless they are cleaned and checked for at least visible debris of that allergen.
• Use separate equipment where you can, for example a toaster used only for gluten-free bread.
• Clean surfaces after preparing allergen foods, and clean up spills straight away.
• Wash your hands after touching allergen foods, and change gloves and aprons if they are contaminated.
• Keep ingredient labels with food, even after decanting, and tell staff when a recipe changes.

Quiz tematico 2: Food hazards and allergens

Lesson 3: Personal hygiene and handwashing

Hands, hair and clothes can carry harmful bacteria and viruses to food. EU law says everyone working in a food-handling area must keep a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear suitable, clean and, where necessary, protective clothing.

Handwashing facilities

Food businesses must have enough handwashing basins, in the right places, used only for washing hands. Each must have hot and cold running water and materials for cleaning and drying hands. Where needed, there must be a separate sink for washing food. Never wash food in a handwash basin and never block it.

When to wash your hands

• Before starting work
• After using the toilet
• After breaks
• After handling raw materials, such as raw meat, poultry, eggs or unwashed vegetables
• Between tasks, especially when moving from raw food to ready-to-eat food
• After touching allergen foods and before handling other food
• After handling waste, and after coughing or sneezing

How to wash your hands

1. Wet your hands under warm running water.
2. Apply soap and work it into a lather.
3. Rub all parts of your hands for at least 20 seconds: palms, backs, wrists, fingers and fingernails.
4. Rinse off all the soap.
5. Dry your hands well with a clean towel. Wet hands pick up and spread bacteria more easily.

Clothing, jewellery and gloves

• Wear clean protective clothing with as few pockets as possible, and use hair covers where your workplace requires them.
• Do not wear jewellery or watches. Jewellery can fall into food (a physical hazard) and traps dirt.
• Protective clothing should preferably not be worn in the toilets.
• Disposable gloves are used once and changed between tasks. Gloves do not replace handwashing: wash your hands thoroughly before and after using them.
• Visitors and contractors, such as repair technicians, should wash their hands and wear the protective clothing the business provides.

Illness and wounds

EU law says a person who has, or carries, a disease that can spread through food, or who has, for example, infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhoea, must not handle food or enter a food-handling area if there is any chance of contaminating food. They must report the illness or symptoms to the food business operator at once. The manager then decides on exclusion or suitable protection.

How long you must stay away from food work after symptoms stop is set by national guidance and your employer's policy. Follow your manager's instructions.

Quiz tematico 3: Personal hygiene and handwashing

Lesson 4: Temperature control: chilling, cooking and storage

Harmful bacteria multiply fastest in warm food, so temperature control is one of the most important controls in any kitchen.

What EU law says

• Raw materials, ingredients and food that could let harmful bacteria grow or toxins form must not be kept at temperatures that could risk health.
• The cold chain must not be interrupted. Short periods outside temperature control are allowed for practical reasons, such as preparation, transport and display, if they do not risk health.
• There must be enough space to store raw and processed materials separately, with enough separate refrigerated storage.
• Food that will be kept or served chilled must be cooled as quickly as possible after cooking.
• Food must be thawed in a way that keeps the growth of harmful bacteria and toxins to a minimum, and run-off liquid must be drained if it is a risk.
• Quick-frozen food must be kept at -18 °C or colder at all points, with brief rises of no more than 3 °C during transport (Directive 89/108/EEC).

Apart from rules like the one for quick-frozen food and some rules for specific products, the general EU hygiene rules do not set one number for each step. The values come from national law, national guidance and sector guides, so they vary between countries.

Example: guidance from Ireland (FSAI)

Using a probe thermometer

• Clean and disinfect the probe before and after use, and put it into the thickest part of the food.
• FSAI advises a probe accurate to at least ±0.5 °C, checked at least twice a year: in iced water it should read between -0.5 °C and +0.5 °C, and in boiling water between 99.5 °C and 100.5 °C.
• Record readings and any action taken.

Quiz tematico 4: Temperature control: chilling, cooking and storage

Lesson 5: Cleaning, pests and cross-contamination

Cleaning removes dirt, grease and food waste. Disinfection reduces micro-organisms to a safe level. Disinfection comes after cleaning, on a surface that is already clean. Equipment that touches food must be cleaned and, where needed, disinfected often enough to prevent contamination.

Cleaning and disinfection steps

1. Remove visible dirt and food waste.
2. Clean with detergent.
3. Rinse.
4. Disinfect, following the product instructions.
5. Rinse again, unless the product instructions say this is not needed.

• A cleaning plan sets out what is cleaned, when, how and by whom.
• Use products according to the manufacturer's instructions. Where products could touch food, use only products suitable for food-contact surfaces.
• Clean from high-risk to low-risk areas, and do not carry dirty equipment back into clean areas.
• Check cleaning with visual checks and, where needed, sampling.
• Food-contact surfaces must be smooth, washable, corrosion-resistant and non-toxic, so they are easy to clean.

Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is when harmful bacteria or allergens spread from one food or surface to another, for example from raw chicken to salad through hands, boards, cloths or drips.

• Use separate equipment for raw and ready-to-eat food, or clean and disinfect it fully between uses. Wiping a board with a cloth is not enough.
• Zoning: physically separate activities, such as raw and cooked food handling.
• Store raw food separately from ready-to-eat food so raw juices cannot drip onto it, and keep food covered or protected.
• Protect food from contamination at every stage, from delivery to service.

Pests, waste, chemicals and water

• Keep doors closed except when loading or unloading, seal gaps and avoid standing water.
• Have a pest control programme. If pests keep coming back, find and fix the cause. Pest control products must be authorised and stored where they cannot touch food.
• Pets and other domestic animals must not be allowed where food is prepared, handled or stored. In special cases where the authority allows access, it must not lead to contamination.
• Remove food waste from food rooms as quickly as possible into closable containers. Keep waste stores clean and free of pests.
• Cleaning chemicals and other hazardous substances must be labelled and kept in separate, secure containers. Never put them in food containers.
• Have a procedure for breakages of glass, hard plastic or knives, including what to do with food that may be affected.
• Ice that touches food or drinks must be made from potable (drinking) water.

Quiz tematico 5: Cleaning, pests and cross-contamination

Lesson 6: HACCP: the seven principles in practice

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. Article 5 of Regulation 852/2004 says food businesses after primary production must keep a permanent procedure based on the HACCP principles. Together with good hygiene practice, it forms the business's food safety management system.

Prerequisite programmes come first

Prerequisite programmes (PRPs), also called good hygiene practice, are the basic conditions and activities that keep a business hygienic. Examples are cleaning, pest control, supplier checks, maintenance, allergen control, waste, water, personal hygiene, temperature control and traceability. In some simple, low-risk businesses, PRPs may be enough on their own.

Preparatory steps

1. Form a HACCP team (in a small business, one person with outside help can be enough).
2. Describe the product: ingredients, processing, packaging, storage and shelf life.
3. Identify its intended use, including vulnerable consumers.
4. Draw a flow diagram of every step.
5. Confirm the flow diagram on site during working hours and correct it if needed.

The seven principles

Key terms

• A hazard is significant if it is reasonably likely to reach an unacceptable level without control.
• A decision tree or another logical method can help find CCPs.
• A critical limit must be observable or measurable. It does not always have to be a number.
• Monitoring checks a CCP as work happens. Verification checks, from time to time, that the controls work as intended. Validation is evidence that a control can control the hazard.

Keeping it working

• Review the procedure whenever the product, process or any step changes.
• Be able to show the competent authority that the system works, and keep documents and records up to date. Records can be electronic.
• Flexibility: small businesses may use simpler records (very small businesses may only need to record problems and what they did) and generic sector guides. Flexibility is never applied to the food safety aims and is not meant to reduce the number of CCPs.
• FSAI warns that a plan written by a consultant and left in a folder is not a working food safety management system. You and your staff must be involved.

Quiz tematico 6: HACCP: the seven principles in practice