HACCP for a small cheese dairy: the five checks you actually need
Small cheese makers often have a HACCP plan too big to use. Here are the five checks that do the work, what to write down and what to do when a value is off.
A HACCP plan only works if you fill it in on a busy day too. In a small cheese dairy, five checks cover most of the risk. Your own plan and your inspector set the exact limits; the numbers below are common examples.
1. Milk on arrival
The temperature of the milk when it arrives or leaves the tank, and a look at smell and colour. Example limit from a plan: often 6 °C or lower for milk waiting to be processed. Off limit: process the milk at once, or don't use it for raw milk cheese.
2. Pasteurisation
Temperature and time, every batch. Example: 72 °C for 15 seconds, or 63 °C for 30 minutes in a vat. Off limit: heat it again or treat the milk as raw.
3. Acidification
pH at a set point in the make, for example before moulding. A slow drop can mean a weak starter or contaminated milk. Off limit: hold the batch and check it before it goes on.
4. Ripening room
Temperature and humidity of the cave or cold room, once a day. Off limit: fix the room and note what happened to the cheeses inside.
5. Cleaning
Equipment and surfaces cleaned after every make, ticked off. A pest check on a fixed day.
What a good record looks like
Every check has a value, a time and who did it, and when a value is off, the corrective action. An inspector wants to see deviations and what you did, not a perfect page. Once the make is under control, price your cheese right with our pricing guide.
How Lagom does it
In Lagom you set up control points with their limits: a temperature, a time, a visual check or a task done. Each point is due per production, per delivery or on a schedule, and you fill it in on your phone. A value outside the limits is marked as a deviation and asks for the corrective action. The whole log downloads as a PDF for an inspection.
More for cheese makers and dairies: Lagom for dairy producers.