Combine HACCP and HARPC Plans 10 years on

In the ever-evolving world of food safety, few concepts have reshaped compliance expectations like HARPC —Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls. Introduced under the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, HARPC was designed to move the industry from a reactive approach to a preventive mindset. It requires food businesses to identify potential hazards and implement preventive controls as well as CCPs.

While HARPC shares similarities with HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), which remains the standard in the UK and EU, it also introduces broader requirements. The most significant difference is the requirement to assess hazards without considering existing controls, and the introduction of a middle-tier control category known as a preventive control.

 

The global compliance challenge

For businesses that manufacture or export food products to both the UK/EU and the U.S., the challenge is that both HACCP and HARPC plans are required. This often means maintaining two separate systems, each with its own documentation, terminology, and audit expectations. The result? Complexity, duplicated effort, and a higher risk of inconsistencies which could result as non conformances at audit.

 

A Proven Solution—Still the Only One

In 2016, Techni-K published Combine Your HACCP and HARPC Plan, the first and only guide to offer a practical method for integrating both systems into a single, streamlined plan. Since then, no other official guidance or training has emerged to address this gap.

 

Why a Combined Approach Matters

Operating two parallel systems can lead to:

• Inefficient audits and overlapping documentation.
• Confusion among staff and auditors.
• Missed hazards or duplicated controls.
• Wasted time and resources.

Despite the clear need, the industry still lacks a widely adopted approach to combining HACCP and HARPC. While a proven method does exist in the book, it has yet to gain broad recognition—leaving many businesses without the training or tools needed to confidently meet the differing regulatory expectations of the different countries.

Techni-K’s New Training Course

To meet this ongoing need, Techni-K is developing new training courses that teach food, packaging and storage and distribution businesses how to create a combined HACCP-HARPC plan. This course builds on the proven method introduced in the original book, updated with nearly a decade of industry experience and feedback.

The course will offer:

• Step-by-step guidance for building a unified plan.
• Real-world examples and templates.
• Compliance alignment with both FSMA and Codex HACCP.

This training is designed to simplify compliance, reduce duplication, and strengthen product safety systems—especially for businesses operating in both U.S. and European markets.

We’d love to know what you think about HARPC and how you’ve integrated it into your product safety plan – just pop your comments into the box below.

Be the first to hear

If you’d like to go on our waiting list and be the first to hear more about this course, please just fill in the details below and we’ll be in touch.