Preventive controls.
21 C.F.R. § 117.135
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a)(1) You must identify and implement preventive controls to provide assurances that any hazards requiring a preventive control will be significantly minimized or prevented and the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by your facility will not be adulterated under section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or misbranded under section 403(w) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(2) Preventive controls required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section include:
(i) Controls at critical control points (CCPs), if there are any CCPs; and
(ii) Controls, other than those at CCPs, that are also appropriate for food safety.
(b) Preventive controls must be written.
(c) Preventive controls include, as appropriate to the facility and the food:
(1) Process controls. Process controls include procedures, practices, and processes to ensure the control of parameters during operations such as heat processing, acidifying, irradiating, and refrigerating foods. Process controls must include, as appropriate to the nature of the applicable control and its role in the facility's food safety system:
(i) Parameters associated with the control of the hazard; and
(ii) The maximum or minimum value, or combination of values, to which any biological, chemical, or physical parameter must be controlled to significantly minimize or prevent a hazard requiring a process control.
(2) Food allergen controls. Food allergen controls include procedures, practices, and processes to control food allergens. Food allergen controls must include those procedures, practices, and processes employed for:
(i) Ensuring protection of food from allergen cross-contact, including during storage, handling, and use; and
(ii) Labeling the finished food, including ensuring that the finished food is not misbranded under section 403(w) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(3) Sanitation controls. Sanitation controls include procedures, practices, and processes to ensure that the facility is maintained in a sanitary condition adequate to significantly minimize or prevent hazards such as environmental pathogens, biological hazards due to employee handling, and food allergen hazards. Sanitation controls must include, as appropriate to the facility and the food, procedures, practices, and processes for the:
(i) Cleanliness of food-contact surfaces, including food-contact surfaces of utensils and equipment;
(ii) Prevention of allergen cross-contact and cross-contamination from insanitary objects and from personnel to food, food packaging material, and other food-contact surfaces and from raw product to processed product.
(4) Supply-chain controls. Supply-chain controls include the supply-chain program as required by subpart G of this part.
(5) Recall plan. Recall plan as required by § 117.139.
(6) Other controls. Preventive controls include any other procedures, practices, and processes necessary to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section. Examples of other controls include hygiene training and other current good manufacturing practices.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-21.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026