New USDA Model HACCP Plans: What Meat Processors Should Know

USDA has released new model HACCP plans (2025), including one especially relevant to meat processors: ready-to-eat fermented, salt-cured, and dried products. For those making salami, jerky, or other specialty items, this plan falls under the “not-heat treated, shelf-stable” category and can be a valuable guide.

USDA also updated plans for dried egg products and pasteurized liquid egg, but for meat plants, the ready-to-eat model is the one to review closely.

Here’s how to get the most from the model plans:

• Use them as a guide, not a template. Copy-paste won’t cut it.
• Expect adjustments. Flow diagrams may include steps you don’t use—or miss steps you need.
• Leverage the references. Linked scientific papers and regulations are great resources to keep in your files.
• Build your own records. You’ll need to create the forms and templates for monitoring.
• Be audit-ready. If you decide a hazard isn’t reasonably likely to occur, you must be able to justify why.

The key point is that USDA’s model HACCP plans are excellent resources, but each processor must create a plan tailored to their own products and processes.

Find the updated plans here: USDA Model HACCP Plans

Rob Maddock, Ph.D., Technical Resource Officer, AMSA