HACCP Plan for Bakeries

A HACCP plan for bakeries is a written plan that applies HACCP principles to baking. It identifies hazards such as germs in flour and eggs, undeclared allergens and metal, and sets controls like a validated bake step and label checks.

  • Food safety
  • Food safety programs

A bakery HACCP plan records how one bakery controls the hazards in its own products, from receiving flour, eggs and butter through mixing, baking, cooling, packing and labeling. It lists each process step, the biological, chemical (including allergen) and physical hazards at that step, and the control for each significant hazard. In a University of Massachusetts teaching plan for a shelf-stable chocolate chip cookie, the bake step controlled Salmonella through a minimum oven temperature and bake time, label review controlled allergens, and equipment inspection addressed metal fragments.

Common bakery ingredients such as flour, eggs and chocolate can carry Salmonella or E. coli, and baking is often the only step that kills them. Undeclared allergens are another serious hazard, which is why the teaching plan treats label accuracy as a preventive control. A written plan shows what must happen at each step, who checks it and what to do when something goes wrong. Registered facilities generally need a food safety plan, and FDA offers a voluntary HACCP manual for retail and food service operators.

Key facts

Example bake-step limits (UMass teaching plan)
Oven at least 350°F, bake at least 13 minutes, portion no more than 28 g
Temperature danger zone
41°F to 135°F
Record review (preventive controls rule)
Within 7 working days
Food safety plan reanalysis
At least every 3 years

In a bakery or commercial kitchen

  • Sort items by process, such as no-cook fillings, items baked and sold the same day, and items cooked, cooled and held
  • Validate your bake step, then set limits such as minimum oven temperature, minimum bake time and maximum portion size
  • Keep cream, custard and other refrigerated fillings at 41°F or below, and hot-held foods at 135°F or above
  • Check each incoming label against the current formula so every allergen, such as milk, egg or wheat, is declared
  • Review monitoring and corrective action records within 7 working days, as the preventive controls rule requires of covered facilities

For home and cottage bakers

  • Bake doughs and batters all the way through, since cooking is what kills germs in raw flour and raw eggs
  • Refrigerate cream-filled and custard desserts promptly and keep them at 41°F or below
  • Cottage bakers should confirm whether their state allows filled or refrigerated items before adding them to the menu

Related entries

Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 17, 2026.

  1. Managing Food Safety: A Manual for the Voluntary Use of HACCP Principles for Operators of Food Service and Retail Establishments, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  2. Food Safety Plan: Chocolate Chip Cookie (Cookie Mania teaching example), University of Massachusetts Amherst
  3. 21 CFR Part 117 Subpart C: Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)
  4. HACCP Principles & Application Guidelines, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  5. Flour Is a Raw Food and Other Safety Facts, U.S. Food and Drug Administration