San Francisco HACCP Compliance Checklist for Food Service

San Francisco HACCP Documentation Requirements

The San Francisco Department of Public Health enforces California Health and Safety Code Section 113860, which mandates written HACCP plans for all food facilities. Your plan must document hazard analysis for each process (receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling, reheating), identify critical control points (CCPs), and establish monitoring procedures for each CCP. You must maintain temperature logs, supplier documentation, and corrective action records for a minimum of one year, available during inspections. Staff must be trained annually on your facility's HACCP plan, and designated staff must understand how to execute corrective actions when critical limits are exceeded. San Francisco inspectors specifically verify that plans are site-specific, not generic templates.

Critical Control Points and Monitoring Checklist

The most frequently cited CCPs in San Francisco inspections are cooking temperatures, cooling procedures, and cross-contamination prevention. For cooking: verify thermometers are calibrated monthly, foods reach species-specific internal temperatures (poultry 165°F, ground meat 155°F, whole cuts 145°F), and cooking equipment logs are maintained daily. For cooling: ensure foods cool from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 additional hours; use ice baths, shallow pans, or blast chillers and document times. For cross-contamination: maintain separate cutting boards and utensils by pathogen type (raw animal products separately), implement color-coded systems, and verify handwashing stations are accessible and stocked. San Francisco inspectors audit these logs monthly and cite facilities that show gaps or missing monitoring records.

Common SF Inspection Violations and Corrective Actions

San Francisco health inspectors frequently cite inadequate cooling procedures, missing or falsified temperature logs, and failure to correct out-of-range temperatures. If an inspector identifies that chicken cooled to only 80°F after 2 hours, you must document immediate corrective action: discard the product, investigate why cooling failed (equipment breakdown, incorrect process), implement a fix, and retrain staff. Other common violations include no designated HACCP coordinator on staff, expired calibration certificates for thermometers, and insufficient documentation of supplier verification (letters from suppliers confirming safe practices). Minor violations typically allow 10–30 days for correction; repeated violations or imminent health hazards may result in closure orders. Keep all corrective action records with supporting evidence (temperature logs, training sign-sheets, equipment repair receipts) to demonstrate compliance during follow-up inspections.

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