HACCP training

Free HACCP test

Q: Is there an official HACCP diploma or a statutory exam?

No, there is no official, legally required exam for HACCP, and according to KHN you don't need a course or diploma either. The business owner must, however, instruct and train staff in food hygiene suited to their work. An NVWA inspector may question staff on their knowledge during an inspection.

Q: What does a hospitality business owner have to arrange by law for HACCP?

As a hospitality business owner you need a food safety plan based on the 7 HACCP principles from Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004, or you work according to the latest Hygiënecode voor de Horeca from KHN. That hygiene code is a ready-made HACCP plan. If you handle food, you also register your business with the NVWA.

Q: Do I have to buy the Hygiënecode voor de Horeca book to comply with HACCP?

No, according to KHN you don't have to buy the Hygiënecode voor de Horeca book, but you do have to work according to the code to meet the HACCP obligation. If you don't follow the code, you need your own food safety plan based on HACCP.

Q: How many questions does the free HACCP test have and when do you pass?

The free HACCP test has 10 questions based on the learning objectives, and you pass if you get 70% right. You only enter your first name and email address and receive a login link by email. Afterwards you see the correct answer with an explanation for each question.

Q: What is the difference between the free HACCP test and the full HACCP training?

The free HACCP test has 10 questions. The full training has 14 lessons, each ending with a few review questions, plus a final exam of 70 questions. Only the paid training automatically gives you extra questions on your mistakes and lets you ask the AI tutor questions.

Q: Who checks whether a hospitality business follows the HACCP rules?

The NVWA checks whether hospitality businesses follow the HACCP rules, through unannounced inspections in which inspectors look at the record sheets, among other things. If rules are broken, the NVWA can issue a warning, impose an administrative fine or close a business. Inspection results may be made public.

The free HACCP test has 10 practical questions on topics including CCPs, cooling down, core temperatures, use-by and best-before dates and product liability, with a pass mark of 70%. The questions are deliberately tricky: they test whether you can apply the rules, not just whether you recognise them. You start as soon as you enter your first name and email address, and afterwards you see the correct answer with an explanation for each question. There is no official HACCP exam: the law requires a food safety plan based on HACCP or working according to the Hygiënecode voor de Horeca (Hygiene Code for the hospitality sector).

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Free HACCP Test

10 exam questions
Pass mark 70%
Instant marking with an explanation for each question
Free account, login link by email

Start free practice exam

How the free HACCP test works

You don't need a course date or payment details. After a short sign-up the test is ready for you and you can begin right away.

Each question covers a different learning objective from the training, so within a few minutes you can see how broad your knowledge is. Every question comes with an explanation. What you need to know for each topic is explained on the Test criteria tab.

Enter your detailsYou enter your first name and email address, and a free account is created for you.
Open the login linkWe email you a link that logs you in straight away.
Take the testYou start as soon as you have logged in and answer the questions.
Read the explanationsAfterwards you see the correct answer to each question, with an explanation of where you went wrong.

The law doesn't require a HACCP test, but it does require safe food handling

There is no official, legally required exam for HACCP. You don't need a course or diploma either. Training providers often issue their own certificate after the training, but that only proves you completed it.

What is compulsory is set out in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. Every food business must work with fixed procedures based on the 7 HACCP principles, from identifying hazards to keeping documents and records that show you actually apply those measures.

In hospitality there are two ways to do this. You draw up your own food safety plan based on HACCP, or you work according to the latest Hygiënecode voor de Horeca from KHN. That code is a ready-made HACCP plan, and you don't have to buy the book as long as you do work by it. The NVWA checks this through unannounced inspections.

Food safety planYou work with your own plan based on HACCP or according to the latest Hygiënecode voor de Horeca.
RecordsAmong other things you record temperatures, delivery checks and cleaning, and under the hygiene code you keep those lists for at least six months.
Staff instructionThe business owner trains staff in food hygiene suited to their work and can show that this has been done.
No compulsory certificateIf you work according to the hygiene code, you meet the HACCP requirements. A course does help you train your staff in a way you can prove.

How to get the most out of the HACCP practice test

10 questions give a first impression, not the full picture. The complete material covers 14 lessons with 41 learning objectives, and many questions turn on exact figures: chilled storage at no more than 7 °C, heating to at least 75 °C at the core, hot display at a minimum of 60 °C.

Those figures are exactly where people slip up. If you have 65 °C or 70 °C in your head, you will confidently pick the wrong answer.

Start without preparingAnswer on instinct, so you get an honest view of what you already know.
Read every explanationYou only spot a lucky guess when you compare your answer with the explanation.
Note your mistakesWrite down which topic you got wrong and look it up in the test criteria.

What you get in the full HACCP training

Was the free test harder than you expected, or do you want to train your staff in a way you can prove? In the full training you work through 14 lessons, from the introduction to the hospitality hygiene code from 2016 onwards. At the end of each lesson you test yourself with a few questions covering the whole lesson, with an explanation for every answer. You finish with a final exam of 70 multiple-choice questions on all learning objectives, with no time limit and a pass mark of 70%. Pass it and you can download your certificate.

You work online on any device, choose between practice mode and exam mode, and your dashboard shows which topics are still weak. The questions are checked against current laws and regulations.

Two things are only available in the paid training, not in the free test. After each test you automatically get extra exam questions on exactly the parts where you made mistakes. And if you don't understand a question or its explanation, you can ask the AI tutor about it straight away, and it explains it again based on the law and official sources.

If you work with colleagues who prefer to read in English, there is also an English-language HACCP course.

14Lessons from introduction to hygiene code
41Learning objectives in the final exam
70Questions in the final exam
70%Needed to pass

The learning objectives for each lesson of the HACCP training

Introduction to HACCP

Who the obligation to work safely with food applies to and who is ultimately responsible. You learn what the Hygiënecode voor de Horeca is, how the NVWA supervises and what measures an inspector can take, and what HACCP stands for with its seven principles.

Demonstrably safe food handling

How you show afterwards that you worked safely with food: fixed procedures, instructions for staff and records you keep. You know the necessary lists, such as incoming goods inspection, temperatures, returns and cleaning.

Layout of the business premises

The requirements for materials, walls, floors and equipment where you work with food, and for facilities such as hand washing stations and lockable bins. The difference between infection and contamination is also covered.

Personal hygiene

Clean work clothes, hair covered, no jewellery, short nails and washing hands properly. You know when you are not allowed to work with food, such as with diarrhoea or vomiting, that you report illness immediately and why humans are the biggest source of contamination.

Training and education

The entrepreneur's obligation to instruct and train employees, suited to their work, and that there is no legally required HACCP diploma. You know that an NVWA inspector can question employees on their knowledge.

H.A.C.C.P.

Why every food business needs a food safety system based on HACCP. You can explain a hazard analysis per process step and categorise a step as a CCP, AKP or point of attention.

Product liability

When you as an entrepreneur are liable for damage caused by a defective product according to the Burgerlijk Wetboek, and why your HACCP administration helps to prove how you worked.

Getting sick from food

Bacteria, yeasts and moulds, the difference between food infection and food poisoning and who is extra vulnerable. You apply the growth conditions of bacteria, know the difference between use-by and best-before dates and recognise physical and chemical hazards.

The CCPs in the hygiene code

The critical temperatures from the hygiene code and how you apply them: chilled maximum 7 °C, frozen -18 °C or colder, keeping warm minimum 60 °C and heating to minimum 75 °C in the core. Regenerating, cooling down and other critical points such as hot smoking are also included.

Temperature control

Measuring correctly with a calibrated thermometer and recording what you measure. You know the risks per process, such as freezing, preparing tiède and rosé, cooling down, regenerating and keeping warm.

Hygienic working

Checking a delivery, storing products safely with FIFO and raw below prepared, preparing without cross-contamination and coding opened products. Cooling, defrosting and presenting uncooled or warm are also covered.

Cleaning

The difference between cleaning and disinfecting, the cleaning phases and why you rinse. You know what a cleaning plan records and how the dishwasher stays clean.

Pests

Which animals are considered pests, how you prevent them and when you call in a specialised company. Also the rules for waste: quickly out of the kitchen, lockable bins and separate disposal.

The hospitality hygiene code from 2016

What is new or stricter in the 2016 code, such as fully heating formed meat, defrosting only in the fridge, microwave or under cold running water, cooling down to 20 °C within 2 hours and to 7 °C within 5 hours, and the rules for batter, sushi, smoking and shawarma.

Frequently asked questions about the free HACCP test and the HACCP rules

Is a HACCP certificate compulsory in hospitality?

No, according to the KVK a HACCP certificate is not compulsory: if you work according to the hygiene code, you meet the HACCP requirements. Training providers often issue their own certificate after the training. It shows you completed the training, but there is no examining body behind it.