Food safety glossary, in plain words.
The terms auditors, inspectors and QA managers use every day, defined by the people who use them.
Food safety glossaryPlain-language definitions
FSSC 22000 Version 7BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9ISO 22000:2018HACCP, SANS 10330 and CodexR638 and Certificate of AcceptabilityGFSI Global MarketsGLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 and SIZASQF Edition 9 and 10IFS Food version 8ISO 9001:2026ISO 14001:2026ISO 45001:2018SMETA 4-pillarDubai Municipality Food CodeADAFSA Regulation 6 of 2010GSO 21 hygieneRegulation (EC) 852/2004FSMA 204 traceability
In briefWritten for people and for the AI assistants they ask
This glossary defines 33 food safety terms used in HACCP, FSSC 22000, BRCGS, GLOBALG.A.P., R638 and ISO management systems, written by ASC Food Safety Consultants lead auditors and checked in September 2026. Each term has its own link so it can be shared.
- Allergen control
- The procedures that stop an allergen reaching a consumer who has not been told it is there, covering storage, production scheduling, cleaning, labelling and verification.
- Audit pack
- The set of records a site produces for an auditor, sampled by clause or by date. In a paperless system it is an export, not an afternoon of photocopying. Exported in one step from the ASCloud dashboard.
- BRCGS Food Safety
- A GFSI-benchmarked certification standard for food manufacturers, widely required by United Kingdom retailers. Issue 9 is current, and Issue 10 is in development. See BRCGS compliance software.
- CAPA (corrective and preventive action)
- The process of fixing a non-conformity, finding its root cause, acting so it does not recur and checking that the action worked. CAPAs open automatically from a failed check in ASCloud.
- CCP (critical control point)
- A step in a process where a control is applied and is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level, monitored against a critical limit. CCP monitoring runs on the HACCP plan.
- Certificate of Acceptability (CoA)
- In South Africa, the certificate a food premises must hold under regulation 3 of R638, issued by the local authority after an inspection. See R638 and Certificate of Acceptability records.
- Certificate of Analysis
- A supplier document reporting test results for a specific lot of material, checked on receipt against the agreed specification.
- Critical limit
- The value that separates acceptable from unacceptable at a CCP, such as a minimum core temperature or a maximum metal detector test piece size.
- Document control
- Making sure only the current, approved version of a procedure or form is in use, with changes reviewed, approved and recorded.
- EHP (Environmental Health Practitioner)
- In South Africa, the registered practitioner, usually employed by a municipality, who inspects food premises against the hygiene regulations.
- Food defence
- Protecting food from deliberate contamination or tampering, assessed with a threat assessment such as TACCP.
- Food fraud
- Deliberate substitution, dilution or misrepresentation of food or ingredients for economic gain, assessed with a vulnerability assessment such as VACCP.
- Food safety culture
- The shared values, beliefs and behaviours in an organisation that affect how food safety is done every day. GFSI-benchmarked schemes now expect it to be measured and improved.
- FSMS (food safety management system)
- The documented system of policies, procedures, prerequisite programmes, HACCP plans and records a food business uses to control food safety hazards.
- FSSC 22000
- A GFSI-recognised certification scheme built on ISO 22000 plus sector prerequisite programmes and additional requirements. Version 7 was published in May 2026. See FSSC 22000 Version 7 software.
- GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative)
- The industry body that benchmarks food safety certification schemes. A GFSI-recognised certificate is what many retailers and brand owners ask suppliers for. See the GFSI Global Markets plans.
- GFSI Global Markets Programme
- A stepwise capacity-building programme with basic and intermediate levels that helps smaller or developing businesses progress towards GFSI-recognised certification. It is not itself a certification.
- GLOBALG.A.P.
- A certification standard for good agricultural practice on farms, covering crops, livestock and aquaculture. IFA version 6 is current. See GLOBALG.A.P. software for farms.
- HACCP
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point: a systematic way of identifying food safety hazards and controlling them at the points where control is essential. In South Africa, SANS 10330:2020 sets out the requirements. See HACCP software to SANS 10330.
- Harmonized Structure
- The common clause structure used by ISO management system standards such as ISO 9001:2026, ISO 22000 and ISO 45001, which makes them easier to run in one system.
- ISO 45001
- The international occupational health and safety management system standard. ISO 45001:2018 is current, and a revision is expected in the first half of 2027.
- ISO 9001:2026
- The international quality management system standard, published on 16 September 2026, replacing ISO 9001:2015. See the ISO 9001:2026 module.
- Listeria monocytogenes
- A bacterium that can grow at refrigeration temperatures and causes listeriosis. It was linked to South Africa's 2017 to 2018 outbreak in ready-to-eat processed meat, which is why environmental monitoring matters in chilled ready-to-eat production.
- Mass balance
- A reconciliation of the quantity of a raw material received against the quantity used in product, held in stock and wasted, used to test traceability.
- Mock recall
- A timed exercise that traces a lot backward to its suppliers and forward to its customers, to prove the traceability system works before a real recall. Run it on the traceability module.
- OPRP (operational prerequisite programme)
- A control measure, identified by the hazard analysis, that is essential to control a significant hazard but is managed with action criteria rather than a critical limit.
- Paperless FSMS
- A food safety management system in which documents, checklists, records and sign-offs are held and signed digitally, so printed forms are no longer needed. See why paperless.
- PRP (prerequisite programme)
- The basic conditions and activities needed to keep a hygienic environment, such as cleaning, pest control, maintenance, personal hygiene and supplier control. PRP checks are scheduled in alerts and automation.
- R638
- South Africa's Regulations governing general hygiene requirements for food premises, the transport of food and related matters, made in 2018 under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972. See the R638 plan.
- SANS 10330
- The South African National Standard setting out requirements for a HACCP system. The current edition is SANS 10330:2020.
- Traceability
- The ability to follow a food, ingredient or packaging lot one step back to its supplier and one step forward to its customer. See forward and backward traceability.
- Validation
- Obtaining evidence that a control measure is capable of controlling the hazard, before it is relied on. Verification asks whether it was done, validation asks whether it works.
- Verification
- Checking, by someone other than the person who did the work, that monitoring was done correctly and the system is working, for example a supervisor reviewing CCP records.
Every one of these terms has a place in ASCloud.
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Reviewed by Mthokozisi Nkosi, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Lead Auditor and founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated 3 October 2026.
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