Your HACCP plan is excellent. Every CCP is monitored, every limit justified, every record signed. And your guests still get ill — because a cockroach in the dry store, a cracked worktop and a stew who never had a hygiene induction are not CCPs, and your plan quietly assumed all of that was already handled. That assumption is what prerequisite programmes are.
Why HACCP fails without prerequisites
HACCP controls the significant hazards at defined points. It is built on the assumption that a basic hygienic environment already exists. If the foundation is not there, the plan floats on nothing: you cannot HACCP your way out of a filthy galley, a broken fridge or an untrained crew.
The prerequisite programmes
| Programme | What it must specify | Yacht failure mode |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning and disinfection | Schedule: what, with which chemical, at what dilution, contact time, how often, by whom, signed | "Deep clean" with no contact time; sanitiser wiped straight off; ice machine never descaled |
| Pest control | Proofing, monitoring, contractor, evidence log, no harbourage | Cardboard provisions boxes brought straight into the dry store — the classic cockroach import |
| Maintenance | Planned maintenance of fridges, chillers, seals, surfaces, probes | Failed door seal on the walk-in nobody reported; chipped worktop harbouring bacteria |
| Personal hygiene | Handwashing, clothing, jewellery, cuts covered, no bare-hand contact with RTE food | Handwash sink used as a prep sink; gel instead of soap and water |
| Supplier approval | Approved list, specification, checks, traceability, delivery standards | Provisioning agent chosen on price and speed in an unknown port |
| Waste management | Segregation, covered bins, removal frequency, ashore disposal (and MARPOL) | Uncovered galley bin during service in the heat |
| Training | Who needs what, refreshers, records | Seasonal stew handed a knife and a section on day one |
| Water and ice | Potable bunkering, dedicated hose, tank cleaning, chlorine residual, ice machine hygiene | Bunkering from a hose that has been lying on the quay |
Supplier and provisioning approval
You cannot audit a supplier in every port, but you can build a defensible approach:
- Keep an approved supplier list with a named contact and a written specification.
- Where possible, ask for evidence: HACCP certification, temperature-controlled vehicles, traceability.
- In unknown ports, weight the control toward acceptance: probe, inspect, reject, and record. What you can prove at the gangway is the control you actually have.
- Maintain traceability — you must be able to trace what you served back to a delivery. Keep delivery notes and, for high-risk items, retain the label.
Reviewing the plan
The HACCP plan is a living document. Review it — and record the review — whenever:
- The menu changes, or a new technique appears (sous vide, sushi, fermenting, curing).
- The crew changes — a new chef brings new methods and different competence.
- The itinerary changes — a Caribbean season, a remote cruising ground, a transatlantic passage.
- An incident, complaint or near-miss occurs.
- On a fixed schedule regardless — at least annually.
Onboard Notes
- Contact time is the most commonly ignored word in cleaning. Write it on the schedule and check it.
- The day the new chef joins is the day the HACCP plan needs reading — by both of you, together.
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.