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Requirements

When is a HACCP plan required for a restaurant?

A HACCP plan is required for a restaurant when you run a process the Food Code treats as higher risk, or when you ask for a variance. Under the FDA Food Code 2022, the rule lives in §8-201.13. Here's every trigger in plain terms, plus the one exception that saves a lot of kitchens the paperwork.

Updated October 2026 · Checked against FDA Food Code 2022 · Not legal advice

The numbers

Main rule
§8-201.13
Variance list
§3-502.11
ROP rule
§3-502.12
48-hour exception
§3-502.12(F)

Which processes need a HACCP plan?

  1. Reduced oxygen packaging of TCS food, including vacuum sealing (§3-502.12(B)).
  2. Cook-chill and sous vide held in the bag (§3-502.12(D)).
  3. Smoking food as a method of preservation rather than for flavour (§3-502.11).
  4. Curing food (§3-502.11).
  5. Using food additives or acids to make food non-TCS, such as acidified sushi rice (§3-502.11).
  6. Live shellfish tanks used for display and sale, and custom processing of animals for personal use (§3-502.11).
  7. Any other variance from a Food Code requirement, plus anything your regulator decides needs one.

When don't I need one?

If you bag food but label it with the time and date, keep it at 41°F or below and open the bag within 48 hours of packaging, §3-502.12(F) says no plan is needed. Cooking and holding food the normal way is covered by the Food Code's own rules, so there's nothing to file.

Do local rules change the answer?

They can. States adopt the Food Code on their own schedule and sometimes add requirements, and some cities ask mobile units for a written operating plan. A quick call to your inspector settles it.

What happens next if I do need one?

Write it, send it before you start, and keep the logs it names. Our step-by-step guide to writing a HACCP plan covers the order, or the builder drafts it from your answers.

Questions people ask

Is a HACCP plan required for every restaurant?

No. The Food Code requires one only for certain processes and variances. Most kitchens that cook, hold and serve food the ordinary way don't need one, though some states and cities set their own rules.

Do I need a variance as well as a HACCP plan?

Sometimes. Reduced oxygen packaging that follows §3-502.12 needs a plan but no variance. Curing, smoking to preserve, acidifying rice or going outside the §3-502.12 conditions needs a variance under §3-502.11, and the variance needs a plan (§8-201.13(A)).

When do I submit the plan?

Before you start the process. §8-201.13(B) has you provide the plan to the regulatory authority before the operation begins.

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