HACCP Flow Diagram Examples for Restaurants and Food Trucks

These HACCP flow diagram examples show how common restaurant, food truck and catering menu items move from the back door to the customer, and where the critical control points sit along the way. A flow diagram is the map your hazard analysis follows, so getting it right makes the rest of the plan much easier. Below you will find diagrams for the three process types used in the FDA Food Code, plus special processes, and a method for drawing and checking your own.

They are examples, not your plan. Your kitchen may add or skip steps. Draw your own, walk it, and include it in the plan your health department reviews.

What a HACCP flow diagram is for

The NACMCF HACCP principles and application guidelines list five preliminary tasks before the seven principles. Two of them are to develop a flow diagram describing the process and to verify it on site. The diagram does three jobs:

1. It gives the hazard analysis a structure. You go through each step and ask what can go wrong there.
2. It shows where control happens. CCPs are marked on the diagram so anyone can see them.
3. It is a communication tool. An inspector can see your process in seconds. A new cook can see why the cooling step matters.

The FDA Food Code 2022 lists a flow diagram by specific food or category that identifies CCPs among the contents of a HACCP plan in 8-201.14. The Food Code annexes also describe the process approach used below.

The Food Code process approach

Instead of drawing a separate diagram for every menu item, the Food Code annex material groups foods by how they flow through the kitchen:

• Process 1: food preparation with no cook step. Receive, store, prepare, hold, serve.
• Process 2: preparation for same day service. Receive, store, prepare, cook, hold, serve.
• Process 3: complex food preparation. Receive, store, prepare, cook, cool, reheat, hot hold, serve.

Most restaurants can describe their whole menu with these three, plus one diagram per special process (sous vide, reduced oxygen packaging, curing, acidification). Grouping menu items this way keeps the plan short and readable.

Example 1: no-cook process (salads, sandwiches, sushi from cooked rice)

Notes:

• There is no step that kills pathogens. Control depends on keeping food cold, keeping it clean, and preventing contamination by workers.
• Many plans treat cold storage and cold holding as CCPs because they are the only time and temperature controls.
• Receiving is often listed as a control or prerequisite, with temperature checks and approved suppliers.
• Date marking applies to ready-to-eat TCS food held more than 24 hours.

Examples: chicken salad made from purchased cooked chicken, deli sandwiches, cut melon, tuna salad, raw oysters (with shellstock tag controls), poke made from properly frozen fish.

Example 2: same-day service (grilled and fried items)

Notes:

• Cooking is the kill step and the main CCP.
• If the food is served immediately, there is no hot holding step.
• If held, hot holding at 135°F or above, or time as a public health control, controls growth.
• Leftovers at the end of the day are discarded or cooled; if cooled, the item becomes a Process 3 food.

Examples: burgers, grilled chicken, fried fish, omelets cooked to order, pizza.

Example 3: complex process (soups, chili, braises, rice)

Notes:

• Food passes through the danger zone twice: during cooling and during reheating.
• Cooling is the step most often linked to Clostridium perfringens illnesses.
• Reheating for hot holding must reach 165°F within 2 hours.
• This is the process that most needs written logs. See the cooling log.

Examples: chili, soups, stocks, pulled pork, beans, cooked rice for fried rice, gravies.

Example 4: sous vide

Sous vide needs a HACCP plan under 3-502.12(D). See the sous vide HACCP plan.

Example 5: reduced oxygen packaging of cold food

See the reduced oxygen packaging HACCP plan.

Example 6: acidified sushi rice

Holding acidified rice at room temperature needs a variance in many jurisdictions. Some use time as a public health control instead. See the HACCP plan for sushi rice.

Example 7: catering hot food delivered to a venue

See the HACCP plan for catering.

Example 8: food truck prep at a commissary

See the food truck HACCP plan.

More HACCP flow diagram examples in text form

You do not need graphics for every diagram. A numbered list with CCPs marked works just as well in a plan. Here are more examples written that way.

Pizza restaurant

1. Receive dough ingredients, cheese, meats and vegetables. Check refrigerated items at 41°F or below.
2. Store cheese, meats and cut vegetables at 41°F or below.
3. Make dough and proof at room temperature (dough is not TCS).
4. Prepare toppings. Date mark cut tomatoes and cooked sausage held more than 24 hours.
5. Hold toppings in the make line at 41°F or below. CCP 1: cold holding.
6. Bake. Pizza ovens far exceed the cooking temperatures, so many plans treat this step as a control rather than a CCP, while precooked meat toppings are already safe. Your hazard analysis decides.
7. Serve, or hold slices hot at 135°F or above. CCP 2: hot holding for slices sold by the piece.

Breakfast diner with eggs

1. Receive shell eggs in refrigerated trucks at 45°F ambient or below.
2. Store eggs at 41°F or below.
3. Crack eggs to order or pool them for batches.
4. Cook eggs for immediate service to 145°F for 15 seconds; pooled eggs held for later service to 155°F for 17 seconds. CCP 1: cooking.
5. Hold cooked eggs on a steam table at 135°F or above. CCP 2: hot holding.
6. Discard unused cooked eggs at the end of service.

Pooled raw eggs held at room temperature are a known risk, so keep them iced if you pool.

Buffet or hot bar

1. Receive and store.
2. Cook each item to its Food Code temperature. CCP 1.
3. Transfer to buffet wells or chafing dishes preheated to hold 135°F or above.
4. Hot hold, checking every 2 hours. CCP 2.
5. Cold items held on ice or in refrigerated wells at 41°F or below. CCP 3.
6. Discard or cool leftovers per your plan. Leftovers that are cooled follow Process 3.

Smoothie and juice bar

1. Receive produce, dairy and nut products.
2. Store dairy and cut produce at 41°F or below.
3. Wash whole produce.
4. Prepare juice or smoothies to order.
5. If juice is bottled for later sale, label each bottle and hold at 41°F or below. CCP 1: labeling. CCP 2: cold holding.

See the juice HACCP plan for the federal rules that may apply.

Taco truck with carnitas

1. Receive pork shoulder at the commissary, store at 41°F or below.
2. Braise pork until well above 145°F. CCP 1.
3. Cool in shallow pans if not used the same day. CCP 2.
4. Load truck with cooled pork and cold toppings.
5. Reheat pork on the truck to 165°F within 2 hours. CCP 3.
6. Hot hold at 135°F or above during service. CCP 4.
7. Hold salsas, cut lettuce and sour cream at 41°F or below. CCP 5.

Bakery with cream-filled pastries

1. Receive dairy and eggs.
2. Cook pastry cream to 165°F (commonly used target; check your plan). CCP 1.
3. Cool pastry cream within cooling limits. CCP 2.
4. Fill pastries.
5. Hold filled pastries at 41°F or below. CCP 3.
6. Date mark and discard within 7 days, or sooner for quality.

How to draw your own HACCP flow diagram

1. List your menu. Every item, including sauces, dressings and garnishes.
2. Sort items into processes. Use the three Food Code processes, and set aside anything with a special step.
3. Write the steps in order for each process. Start at receiving and end at service. Include storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating, holding and transport.
4. Add steps people forget: thawing, portioning, batching sauces, holding on the line, transport to an off-site event, packaging for delivery.
5. Keep it linear where you can. Branches are fine (for example "serve immediately" vs "hot hold") but keep them simple.
6. Mark CCPs after the hazard analysis, not before. The hazard analysis decides which steps are CCPs.
7. Number CCPs so they match the CCP table in your plan.

You can draw it on paper, in a spreadsheet, or with a tool like the HACCP builder, which generates a diagram for each process you select.

Verifying the diagram on site

NACMCF guidance says the HACCP team should verify the diagram against the actual operation. In a restaurant:

• Follow a real order or batch from delivery to plate.
• Watch each shift. Morning prep and evening service may differ.
• Ask the cooks what they actually do. They often know about steps that never made it onto paper, such as "we cool the rice on the speed rack by the back door."
• Correct the diagram and note the date and who checked it.
• Repeat after any menu or equipment change.

A diagram that does not match reality leads to a hazard analysis that misses real hazards.

Common mistakes in restaurant flow diagrams

• Too much detail. Every knife cut is not a step. Group what belongs together.
• Too little detail. Skipping cooling or holding hides the steps that matter most.
• Missing transport. Catering and food trucks add steps between kitchen and service.
• Marking CCPs before the hazard analysis.
• One diagram for the whole menu. It ends up so general that it is useless.
• Out of date. The menu changed in spring but the diagram did not.

From flow diagram to hazard analysis

Once the diagram is drawn and verified, take each step and ask:

• What biological, chemical or physical hazards could be introduced, increase or survive here?
• Is the hazard reasonably likely to occur without control?
• What controls exist at this step?
• Is this the step where the hazard must be controlled, or is there a later step that does it?

That process is covered in hazard analysis examples, and deciding which steps are CCPs is in critical control point examples.

Matching diagrams to the CCP table

Each CCP on the diagram should have a row in your CCP table with the hazard, critical limit, monitoring, corrective action, verification and records. For example:

| Diagram step | CCP number | Critical limit | Record | |---|---|---|---| | Cook (Process 2) | CCP 1 | 3-401.11 temperature for the food | Cooking log | | Hot hold | CCP 2 | 135°F or above | Hot holding log | | Cool (Process 3) | CCP 2 | 135°F to 70°F in 2 h, to 41°F in 6 h | Cooling log | | Reheat | CCP 3 | 165°F within 2 h | Reheating log |

The HACCP critical limits chart lists the Food Code numbers.

What to put next to each step

A bare list of steps is a start. Adding a few notes next to each step makes the diagram far more useful during the hazard analysis and later in training:

• Equipment used, such as "tilt skillet" or "blast chiller."
• Typical time at that step, such as "cooling 3 to 4 hours."
• Who does it, such as "prep cook, morning shift."
• Where it happens, such as "commissary" or "truck."
• Existing controls, such as "probe check every batch."

These notes also help an inspector understand your operation quickly, and they show where a step depends on one person or one piece of equipment. If the blast chiller breaks, the note tells you which processes are affected and which CCPs need a backup method.

Symbols and format

There is no required format. Most plans use simple boxes connected by arrows, with CCPs shown as boxes with a bold outline, a different color, or a label such as "CCP 1." Some use a diamond for a decision, such as "serve now or hold?" Keep it readable in black and white, because plans get photocopied and faxed. Avoid tiny text. If a diagram does not fit on one page, it probably covers too many processes and should be split.

Presenting diagrams in your plan

• Put each diagram on its own page, with the process name and the menu items it covers.
• Use the same CCP numbers as the CCP table.
• Add a short note under the diagram for anything unusual.
• Date and sign each diagram after verification.

An inspector should be able to open your plan, find the diagram for a menu item they see on the line, and see where the controls are.

Flow diagrams for multi-unit and ghost kitchens

Kitchens that produce food for several brands, or several locations, often have one shared set of prep steps feeding many menu items. Draw the shared steps once, then branch to each brand or location. For a ghost kitchen, the diagram should include packaging for delivery and handoff to the courier, because food may sit out while waiting. See the HACCP plan for a ghost kitchen.

Flow diagrams for bakeries and small producers

Bakeries and small producers often have steps a restaurant does not: proofing, filling, glazing, cooling at room temperature for non-TCS items, and packaging with labels. Mark which products are TCS (custard and cream fillings, cheese fillings) and which are not (most breads). See the bakery HACCP plan and the cottage food HACCP plan.

Flow diagrams for delivery and takeout

Delivery adds steps after cooking: packaging, waiting for pickup, and the trip itself. If hot food waits on a shelf for a courier, that wait belongs on the diagram, along with how long it can last. Many kitchens add a simple control such as a maximum shelf time before the order is remade, and use tamper-evident packaging. These are not always CCPs, but they belong on the map.

Who should draw the diagram

The person who writes the plan should not draw the diagram alone. Bring in:

• The chef or kitchen manager, who knows the recipes and timing.
• A line cook from each shift, who knows what happens in practice.
• The person who receives deliveries.
• The owner or manager responsible for food safety.

In a small operation this may be two people, and that is fine. NACMCF guidance calls this the HACCP team; in a restaurant it is usually the people who already run the kitchen.

Updating diagrams over time

Review diagrams when:

• The menu changes.
• You buy new equipment, such as a blast chiller or a combi oven.
• You change suppliers or start buying prepared ingredients.
• You add catering, delivery or a food truck.
• An inspection or a complaint points to a step that was missed.

Keep old versions with the date they were replaced. If questions come up about a past event, you can show which process was in place at the time.

Build your flow diagrams

The HACCP builder creates a flow diagram for each process you choose, marks the CCPs, and links each one to a CCP table with Food Code limits and printable logs. Your first process is free and the Plan Pack covers every process. For structure, see the HACCP plan template and the HACCP plan example. The result is a draft for your health department to review.

Frequently asked questions

What is a flow diagram in HACCP?

It is a step by step chart of how a food or group of foods moves through your operation, from receiving to service. NACMCF guidance treats building and verifying the flow diagram as a preliminary step before the hazard analysis.

Do I need a separate flow diagram for every menu item?

Usually not. The Food Code process approach groups foods that follow the same steps, so most restaurants need three to six diagrams. Items with special steps, like sous vide or curing, need their own.

Should the flow diagram show CCPs?

Yes. The Food Code's HACCP plan contents in 8-201.14 call for a flow diagram identifying CCPs. Mark each one clearly, for example CCP 1 at cooking.

How do I verify a flow diagram?

Walk the kitchen during real production and follow the food. Check every step on paper happens, and add any step that happens but is missing. Sign and date the check.