Control of operation is achieved by identifying and managing all stages or activities within a food operation process that could have an effect on food safety.  Some stages or processing activities are critical to food safety. If they are not controlled, they could pose a risk to food safety. To ensure the operation is under control, processes should be properly designed and managed. The products being produced and the processes used should be listed and described. This means listing all incoming raw materials and other ingredients, detailing their composition and/or formulation, describing the methods of production, processing, distribution, and describing the end use of the product by the consumer. Such detail will help to identify and control any hazards and prevent contamination. Control systems should be designed, implemented and monitored to be effective.

Consult the guidance document on controlling operations for guidance on:

• how to describe or identify the process and how to support the identification and control of hazards that are relevant to the process and the ingredients or food products;
• reviewing and evaluating GHP programmes in place to determine whether they are sufficient to control hazards, as certain critical activities or processing steps may require greater attention;
• implementing and retaining a documented monitoring programme and determining the appropriate corrective actions when deviations occur; 
• identifying and addressing microbiological, chemical and physical hazards and their sources; and
• establishing documented standard operating procedures, training materials and a food recall plan that is tested periodically to verify that it can remove a product from the market effectively and efficiently.

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