FSMA Preventive Controls Plan Template

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Human Food rule is a national law which contains compliance dates for some businesses which began in September 2016. FSMA mandates that food facilities are required to implement a written preventive controls plan. This involves: (1) evaluating the hazards that could affect food safety, (2) specifying what preventive steps, or controls, will be put in place to significantly minimize or prevent the hazards, (3) specifying how the facility will monitor these controls to ensure they are working, (4) maintaining routine records of the monitoring, and (5) specifying what actions the facility will take to correct problems that arise.

Note that many Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and other prerequisite programs are managed outside of the Food Safety Plan. While these are separate programs and may not require the same level of documentation as the elements of the Food Safety Plan, they are important. You can use this GMP checklist to assist. They are generally managed using standard operating procedures (template here) with documents and records kept as appropriate. Keep in mind that elements of GMPs that are not covered in the Food Safety Plan are still required by regulations.

This is a template to assist a facility write a food safety plan addressing these five major aspects of a FSMA Preventive Controls Plan for Human Food. Please keep in mind that a Food Safety Plan is a dynamic document, which must be kept current if changes are made to the system or to equipment when new products are added, or new hazards are identified.

Of course, instead of using this word document to create your Food Safety Plans, you may use the ConnectFood step-by-step food safety plan generator to make this process both easier and repeatable! Get started with the FREE subscription plan and upgrade as needed by selecting your plan level here: https://connectfood.com/pricing