HACCP training online in the UK: where to train and what employers look for

What employers look for in an online HACCP certificate

Every food business must have a food safety management system based on the HACCP principles, and the people who run it must be trained in applying them. Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 sets the duty, and Annex II Chapter XII requires those responsible for the HACCP procedure to receive adequate training in applying the principles. When an employer or inspector checks a certificate, they usually look for:

• Content that follows the current regulations. Regulation 852/2004 as retained law in the UK and directly in Ireland, with the enforcing regulations for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• A clear, verifiable record. The course name, hours of learning and completion date, with a way to confirm the certificate.
• The essentials every HACCP team needs. Prerequisite programmes, the hazards, the seven principles from hazard analysis to documentation, and how systems such as Safer Food, Better Business and CookSafe apply them.
• A refresh date. The HACCP plan must be reviewed when anything changes, and inspectors ask when the people running it were last trained, so a refresh date matters.

Lift College's certificate does each of these. It records HACCP Training, 3 hours of learning, your completion date and a recommended refresh date 3 years on, with a unique certificate number and a verification link. Your food hygiene rating inspection will look at your procedures and your records as well as your kitchen. The course prepares you to show an inspector a working system, not just a folder.

What the Lift College course covers

There are 7 short modules, each with a knowledge check, then a multiple choice final test with an 80% pass mark and unlimited free retakes.

1. What HACCP is. Where it came from, the legal duty on every food business and what an inspector looks for.
2. Prerequisites. Cleaning, pest control, temperature control, personal hygiene, suppliers and training, the foundations a HACCP plan sits on.
3. Hazards. Biological, chemical, physical and allergen hazards, and how they get into food.
4. Principles 1 and 2. Hazard analysis with a flow diagram, and identifying the critical control points.
5. Principles 3 to 5. Critical limits, monitoring and corrective action.
6. Principles 6 and 7. Verification and documentation, and reviewing the plan when anything changes.
7. HACCP in practice. Safer Food, Better Business, CookSafe, Safe Catering and FSAI guidance, and running the system day to day.

By the end you can draw a flow diagram for your operation, identify the critical control points and set critical limits, monitor and correct them, keep the records an inspector expects, and know when to review the plan.

The law and guidance it is written around

• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Article 5 (UK as retained law, and Ireland). Food business operators must put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure based on the HACCP principles, and review it when anything changes.
• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II Chapter XII (UK as retained law, and Ireland). Food handlers must be supervised and trained in food hygiene, and those responsible for the HACCP procedure must receive adequate training in applying the HACCP principles.
• The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (England). The regulations that enforce the hygiene requirements, including the HACCP duty, in England.
• The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (Scotland). The equivalent enforcing regulations in Scotland.
• The Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006 (Wales). The equivalent enforcing regulations in Wales.
• The Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (Northern Ireland). The equivalent enforcing regulations in Northern Ireland.

In Ireland, Regulation 852/2004 applies directly and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland publishes the guidance. The seven principles are the same in every nation.

How Lift College compares with other UK providers

Details below are as each provider shows them on its own course page, checked 23 October 2026. "Check provider" means the page did not state it.

With Lift College the £19.99 is the full price for one learner, with nothing added at checkout, and the refresher is free when your recommended refresh date arrives. Retakes of the final test are free and unlimited.

Who it suits

HACCP Training is for the people who own, manage or run the food safety procedures in a food business in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland. It is for you if:

• you own, manage or supervise a food business
• you are responsible for your food safety management system
• you are taking over a kitchen or opening a new food business
• your food hygiene rating visit flagged your procedures or records
• you already hold a food hygiene certificate and want the next step

Food handlers who prepare food but do not run the system need a food hygiene certificate rather than this course. HACCP Training is the step up for the people who write and review the plan.

Most people take HACCP Training after a food hygiene certificate: see our food hygiene level 2 guide or, for supervisors and managers, the food hygiene level 3 guide. Allergen hazards sit inside your HACCP plan and are covered in depth in our allergen awareness guide. See every course on the food hygiene courses page or browse all Lift College CPD courses. Buying for a team? Ask about team enrolment.

Enrol on HACCP Training for £19.99 and start module 1 the minute you pay. Ask within 14 days of paying and we refund you in full.