Controlling your documents and records
Plain-language summary
Keep the documents and records your food-safety system needs - current, available, protected and under control.
What the clause is really asking
Your HACCP plan, PRPs, monitoring records and verification results are the evidence that food was made safely. This clause requires you to control documented information - creating it properly, keeping the right version in use, protecting records from loss or tampering, and retaining them long enough. In food, monitoring records are often the only proof a CCP was under control.
What auditors look for
Auditors check that people are using the current versions, that obsolete copies are not floating around, and that records are complete, legible and tamper-resistant. They will pull CCP and monitoring records to confirm they are filled in at the time, not reconstructed later.
Typical evidence
Document control list and version history; controlled distribution of HACCP/PRP documents; completed monitoring records; record retention and protection arrangements
How to comply — recommendations
Run a simple version-control system so only current documents are in use and old ones are withdrawn. Make critical records easy to complete correctly at the line and protect them from damage or alteration. Set retention periods that meet legal, customer and shelf-life-plus-margin needs.
Common nonconformities
Obsolete HACCP/PRP versions in use on the floor; monitoring records completed in advance or in bulk; records missing, illegible or alterable
Related clauses
ISO 22000 8.5.4, 8.8; ISO 9001 7.5
Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of the relevant standard for the authoritative text.