HACCPLAN

FOOD PROCESSES

Food Process Taxonomy

69 unit operations a food business may perform, cross-referenced to the specific reg sections that govern each one. The generator uses this map to scaffold a PCP / HACCP plan for any combination of processes your facility runs.

13 categories69 processes21 commonly CCP

Receiving & Storage

Intake of raw materials and ingredients, plus the holding states (cold, frozen, ambient, bulk) before, during, and after processing.

Preparation

Pre-processing steps that get the raw material ready for size reduction or formulation — washing, sorting, peeling, trimming.

Size Reduction

Mechanical reduction of food into smaller, more uniform pieces — chopping, slicing, grinding, milling.

Mixing & Forming

Combining ingredients and shaping them — blending, emulsifying, kneading, extruding, forming, coating.

Thermal Processing (Heat)

Heat-based treatments — cooking, pasteurizing, sterilizing, smoking. Most classic kill-step CCPs live here.

Cold Processing

Chilling and freezing operations. Critical for growth control of mesophilic pathogens.

Preservation (Non-thermal)

Reducing water activity, lowering pH, applying pressure, or otherwise extending shelf life without heat.

Separation & Concentration

Removing components from a food matrix — filtration, pressing, evaporation, extraction.

Cultivation & Harvest

On-farm growing operations through harvest. Where Produce Safety Rule and SFCR fresh-produce requirements bite hardest.

Packaging

Filling, sealing, labelling, and palletizing. The point where labels are applied (allergen + nutrition).

Quality Control

Detection and verification steps — visual inspection, metal detection, weight verification, lab testing.

Cleaning & Sanitation

Removing soil, allergens, and microbes from food contact surfaces. The prerequisite program every HACCP plan sits on.

Distribution

Outbound shipment, cold-chain maintenance, and traceability handoffs.

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