HACCP and the hygiene code in hospitality: what do you need to document?

Are you working in the Netherlands with an approved hygiene code, or in Belgium under the FAVV's self-check guide? The basis is the same either way. You need to be able to show that you prepare, store and serve food safely. That goes for a restaurant just as much as for a catering business, and for anyone doing both. For a smaller hospitality business, HACCP can quickly start to feel like a stack of paperwork nobody looks at any more. In this article you'll read what you actually need to document in practice, where the Dutch and Belgian rules differ, and how to keep it manageable alongside the rest of your work.

What HACCP actually is

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, and it isn't a law in itself, it's the international framework behind the food safety rules in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The idea is simple: you map out where things can go wrong in your preparation, from purchasing to serving, and you record how you control those risks. In practice that comes down to tracking temperatures, respecting shelf life, and making sure your staff know what they're doing. That applies whether you're working from a fixed kitchen or on site at an event.

Where the Netherlands and Belgium differ is in how those HACCP principles get translated into something a smaller hospitality business can actually carry out.

The Netherlands: the approved hygiene code

In the Netherlands, the NVWA oversees food safety, but you don't have to write a complete HACCP plan from scratch yourself. Trade associations draw up approved hygiene codes specifically for the hospitality and catering sector, already setting out which checks are needed and how often. Work according to one of these hygiene codes and you automatically meet the legal requirements.

• Ask your trade association which hygiene code applies to your type of business: restaurant, catering, or a combination.
• If you'd rather work out your own system, that's allowed too, but then you need to demonstrate yourself that it's equivalent.
• The NVWA inspects based on risk: the better your records are in order, the less hassle at an inspection.

Belgium: the FAVV self-check guide

In Belgium you work with a self-check system under the oversight of the FAVV (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain). For the hospitality sector, including catering, there's a specific self-check guide that spells out exactly which records you need to keep. Once your business grows past a certain turnover or staff size, you may also be required to get a validated self-check system certified.

• Check with the FAVV which self-check guide applies to your activities, and whether certification is mandatory for your business.
• Applying an approved guide saves you from working out a full HACCP plan yourself.
• Keep proof of compliance for at least as long as the FAVV requires, even after an event or a busy shift ends.

What you actually need to document in practice

Regardless of which country you work in, and regardless of whether you run a restaurant, a catering business, or both, most of the mandatory records come down to the same thing. These are the points inspectors look at first:

• Temperature on receipt, storage, transport and keeping dishes warm.
• An up-to-date allergen list per dish, both for the fixed menu and for one-off menus at an event.
• Cleaning and disinfection: what, how often and by whom.
• Best-before and use-by checks on receipt and during storage.
• Training and instruction of staff, including temporary workers.

An inspector rarely asks about the theory, they ask for the proof: show me your records from the last few weeks. You can read how to build that allergen list in practice in the allergen list for hospitality businesses.

Keeping it manageable alongside the rest of your work

The biggest risk isn't that you don't know the rules, it's that the records stop getting done once things get busy. A few things that actually help:

• Keep records on your phone or computer instead of on paper lists that go missing between shifts or events.
• Build HACCP tasks into your fixed daily routine in the restaurant, or tie them to your running order per event if you work in catering, so recording becomes a standard part of the work instead of something you still have to do afterwards.
• Appoint one person per shift or per event who's responsible for the records, just as you would for any other task.
• Keep proof in one central place, so you don't have to dig through old emails or loose notes at an inspection.

It helps to tie the record to a moment that already exists: receiving a delivery, loading the van, switching on the hot-holding equipment. That way nobody has to do an extra round, and the list still gets kept up even on a busy Saturday.

That way HACCP stays what it's supposed to be: a way to know for yourself that you're working safely, not just a checklist for the inspector.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to write my own HACCP plan as a smaller hospitality business?

Mostly not. In the Netherlands it's enough to work according to an approved hygiene code for the sector, in Belgium an approved self-check guide is enough. That applies to restaurants just as much as to catering businesses. Only if you deviate from that do you need to demonstrate yourself that your system is equivalent.

Does HACCP really differ between the Netherlands and Belgium?

The underlying principles are the same, but the execution differs. The Netherlands works with approved hygiene codes under NVWA oversight, Belgium with self-check guides and sometimes mandatory certification under the FAVV. If you work in both countries, you need to know both systems.

Which records does an inspector ask for most often?

Temperature records, allergen lists and cleaning schedules top the list. Make sure you can show the last few weeks' worth quickly, that makes an inspection go a lot more smoothly.

How long do I need to keep my HACCP records?

The retention period is set out in the hygiene code or self-check guide that applies to your business, so check that rather than picking your own timeframe. In Belgium, the FAVV sets out how long you keep proof of compliance. Either way, keep it in one central place, so you don't have to search for anything at an inspection.

Does HACCP apply the same way to a fixed restaurant as to one-off jobs and food trucks?

The core of the rules is the same: temperature, allergens and hygiene always need to be secured. The difference is in the execution. A restaurant can build records into a fixed daily routine, while at an event or in a food truck you need to make the records practically workable at a changing location.

Catermonkey keeps track of allergens per ingredient and carries them through to your kitchen lists and labels, so the list that goes out with a job matches the one hanging in your kitchen.

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