Management has asked for the vessel's HACCP plan before the summer charter season. What exists is a laminated sheet of fridge temperatures and a chef who says "we know what we are doing". The reason HACCP is structured as twelve steps is that skipping the first five is exactly how plans end up describing an operation that does not exist.
The seven principles
| # | Principle |
|---|---|
| 1 | Conduct a hazard analysis |
| 2 | Determine the critical control points (CCPs) |
| 3 | Establish critical limits for each CCP |
| 4 | Establish monitoring for each CCP |
| 5 | Establish the corrective action when a limit is breached |
| 6 | Establish verification procedures |
| 7 | Establish documentation and record-keeping |
The twelve logical steps
Steps 1-5 are preparation; steps 6-12 apply the seven principles.
| Step | Action | On a yacht |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assemble the HACCP team | Chef, chief stew, purser/ETO, captain as sponsor |
| 2 | Describe the product | Crew meals, guest menus, canapés, sushi, beach service, ice, drinking water |
| 3 | Identify intended use and consumers | Guests including children, pregnant and elderly; crew. Vulnerable groups matter |
| 4 | Construct the flow diagram | Every step from provisioning to service and waste |
| 5 | Confirm the flow diagram on site | Walk it physically — the written flow is always optimistic |
| 6 | Hazard analysis (P1) | Biological, chemical, physical, allergenic at every step |
| 7 | Determine CCPs (P2) | Use a decision tree |
| 8 | Set critical limits (P3) | Measurable and justified |
| 9 | Monitoring (P4) | What, how, when, who |
| 10 | Corrective action (P5) | For the food and for the cause |
| 11 | Verification (P6) | Is the plan working, and is it still right? |
| 12 | Documentation (P7) | Records that prove control |
Building the flow diagram for a yacht
A generic restaurant flow will not survive a yacht. Yours must include the steps that are uniquely yours:
Supplier selection → order → delivery to quay → tender/launch transfer → acceptance check → storage (dry/chill/freeze) → thaw → preparation → cooking → cooling → chilled storage → reheating → hot holding → plating → transport ashore → service → leftovers → waste
Add the parallel flows most plans forget: potable water bunkering → tanks → ice machine → drinks and washed produce, and the crew mess as a separate product with its own bulk-cooking and cooling risks.
Hazard analysis
At each step ask: what could go wrong here (biological, chemical, physical, allergenic), how likely is it, how severe would it be? Then name the control measure.
| Step | Hazard | Type | Significance | Control measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tender transfer | Growth from cold-chain break | B | High | Insulated boxes; time limit; temperature on arrival |
| Bulk cooling (crew stew) | C. perfringens spore germination | B | High | Rapid cooling; portion small |
| Cleaning during service | Chemical residue | C | Medium | No spraying during service |
| Canapés | Undeclared nuts | A | High | Allergen matrix and verification |
Onboard Notes
- Walk your flow diagram physically before you sign it. What crew actually do is the plan you have, whatever the folder says.
- Do not copy another boat's HACCP plan. A plan that does not describe your galley is documented evidence that you did not look.
Scope note: xplor is not an approved centre or an accredited training provider. This lesson is preparatory study only - no certificate and no regulated qualification is awarded here, and a Level 3 supervising food safety award must be sat and assessed with an approved centre of a regulated awarding organisation.