Food safety

HACCP Hazard Analysis: Types and How to Evaluate Them

By Claudia · · 7 min read

Food quality and safety in a single toolHACCP, allergens, traceability and technical data sheets, always ready for audit.

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Quality technician performing a hazard analysis on a food production line

Hazard analysis that avoids surprises

In the day-to-day of any food production plant, the hazard analysis is the tool that makes the difference between reacting to a problem and anticipating it. Without this prior, systematic exercise, the quality team works blind: it detects deviations after they've already happened, manages product recalls under pressure and, in the worst case, compromises consumer safety. If you're looking to better structure your preventive system, this article gives you the keys to understanding what a rigorous hazard analysis involves, how to classify and evaluate each risk, and how Solved helps you documentit without wasting time.

What hazard analysis in HACCP is

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is the most widely used food safety management system in the industry. Its central pillar is precisely hazard analysis: a structured process in which the quality team identifies every agent that could cause harm to the consumer, evaluates the likelihood of it occurring and the severity of its consequences, and decides which control measures are needed to eliminate it or reduce it to acceptable levels.

This analysis is not a bureaucratic formality: it is the foundation on which critical control points (CCPs), critical limits, monitoring procedures and corrective action plans are built. Without a solid hazard analysis, everything that comes after stands on shaky ground. As established by the Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (Regulation [EC] 852/2004, 2004), food business operators are required to put in place, implement and maintain permanent procedures based on HACCP principles, which places hazard analysis at the heart of European legal compliance.

In the food industry, the challenges are numerous: raw materials from different origins, demanding cold chains, allergens, complex processing operations and constantly evolving regulations. Hazard analysis and critical points is not something done once and filed away; it must be reviewed every time an ingredient, a supplier, a process or a facility changes.

Biological, chemical and physical hazards

The first step in hazard analysis is identifying which types of agents can compromise product safety. The classic, internationally recognized classification distinguishes three main categories:

Biological hazards. These are the most frequent and often the ones with the greatest impact on public health. They include pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7 or Campylobacter, as well as viruses, parasites and toxigenic fungi. Their presence depends on the hygiene of raw materials, temperature and time conditions during processing and storage, and handling practices.

Chemical hazards. These cover a wide spectrum: pesticide residues, heavy metals, mycotoxins, undeclared allergens, additives beyond the legal limit, cleaning and disinfection products, lubricants or contaminants migrating from packaging. Food risk evaluation in this category requires knowing both the sources of contamination and the relevant toxicological thresholds.

Physical hazards. Fragments of glass, metal, wood, hard plastic or bone that can reach the product through raw materials, machinery or the production environment. Although their health impact is usually localized (cuts, dental damage), they cause considerable market recalls and reputational damage.

A thorough identification requires reviewing every stage of the process flow diagram: receipt of raw materials, storage, preparation, processing, packaging, finished product storage and distribution. It's also important not to overlook cross-contamination hazards, especially those related to allergens.

How to evaluate likelihood and severity

Identifying food hazards is only half the job. The other half is prioritizing: not every hazard carries the same level of real risk, and control resources must be concentrated where the potential impact is greatest. This is where risk evaluation comes in, combining two variables:

Likelihood (or frequency). How often could this hazard occur under normal operating conditions? To estimate it, the company's historical data, sector incidents, supplier records, previous analytical results and the technical judgment of the HACCP team are taken into account.

Severity. What consequences would there be for the consumer if the hazard reached the final product uncontrolled? Potential harm is assessed: from mild discomfort to serious illness or death, including effects on vulnerable populations (pregnant women, the elderly, immunocompromised people).

Food quality and safety in a single toolHACCP, allergens, traceability and technical data sheets, always ready for audit.

See Solved for food

The combination of both variables is usually captured in a risk matrix that cross-references likelihood and severity levels. Hazards scoring high on both dimensions must be controlled through a CCP or, at the very least, through reinforced prerequisite programs. Those scoring low can be managed with standard good hygiene practices.

This evidence-based approach is the one recommended by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius (Codex Alimentarius, n.d.) as the international reference methodological framework for safety management. Applying it consistently, with records that demonstrate the team's reasoning, is key for both internal audits and official inspections.

Un aspecto que los responsables de calidad suelen subestimar es la importancia de la trazabilidad en esta fase: conocer exactamente de dónde proviene cada ingrediente, en qué lote se utilizó y a qué destino fue el producto terminado permite acotar el alcance de un problema si el análisis de peligros detecta una desviación potencial a posteriori.

How to document the analysis and its controls in Solved

One of the biggest challenges of hazard analysis isn't methodological but operational: keeping the documentation up to date, accessible and useful for audits and periodic reviews. Teams that work with spreadsheets scattered across files or paper documents know exactly how hard it is to reconstruct the reasoning behind a decision made two years ago or trace whether a hazard was reassessed after a change of supplier.

Solved is designed specifically for the food industry and solves this problem at the root. On the platform you can structure your HACCP analysis digitally, centralizing in a single environment the identification of hazards by process stage, the likelihood-and-severity evaluation matrix, the decision on whether a hazard leads to a CCP or an alternative control measure, and the associated monitoring records and corrective actions.

Every element of the analysis is tracked: who entered it, when it was reviewed and what changes were made. This not only makes it easier to prepare for audits against standards like BRC, IFS or FSSC 22000, but also lets the quality team detect in real time whether any control measure shows frequent deviations that should prompt a rethink of the original risk evaluation.

Solved also connects hazard analysis with the rest of the quality management system: product records, suppliers, sampling plans, incidents and non-conformities. When a problem arises in production, the quality manager can cross-reference the incident with the current hazard analysis and determine within minutes whether a control was in place, whether it was being applied correctly, and whether the risk evaluation needs to be updated.

The result is a living system, not a filed-away document: a hazard analysis that actually helps prevent scares, instead of documenting the ones that have already happened. If you want to see how it works in practice for a company like yours, get in touch with the Solved team and book a demo tailored to your sector.

References

Food quality and safety in a single toolHACCP, allergens, traceability and technical data sheets, always ready for audit.

See Solved for food