A jam HACCP plan tends to be shorter than people expect, because the jam itself does most of the work. A properly made jam is acidic, from the fruit, and so full of sugar, at least 65% soluble solids by FDA's standard, that pathogens can't grow in a sealed jar. FDA's acidified food rule leaves jams, jellies and preserves out. So the hazard analysis comes down to keeping the jam what it's meant to be: the pH of the fruit, the soluble solids at the end of the cook, a hot fill that seals the jar clean, and glass. Add a low-acid ingredient, like jalapeños in a pepper jam, and the answer changes: that recipe goes to a process authority, who decides whether it's acidified. For a registered food facility, FDA's preventive controls rule asks for a written hazard analysis even if it finds no hazards, and a qualified facility, such as a very small business, follows lighter requirements. Grocery buyers often ask for a HACCP plan either way. In the example below, a Louisiana berry farm writes its strawberry jam plan with two critical control points.
The short version
- Jam is excluded from FDA's acidified food rule; a pepper jam may not be, so ask a process authority.
- The hazard analysis is written, whatever it finds.
- The jam's own safety: the fruit's pH and at least 65% soluble solids.
- The jar's: a hot fill at the temperature your process sets, and glass checks.
- Two common CCPs: the cook endpoint (pH and solids) and the fill temperature.
- Qualified facilities follow modified requirements; buyers may still ask for a plan.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's pH and solids on its batch record, with its lot. More below.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Not acidified | Jams, jellies and preserves are excluded from the acidified food rule (21 CFR 114.3(b)) |
| Hazard analysis | Biological, chemical and physical hazards, written regardless of its outcome (21 CFR 117.130) |
| Preventive controls | Controls at critical control points if there are any, with parameters and limits (21 CFR 117.135) |
| Qualified facility | Not subject to the hazard analysis subpart; modified requirements instead (21 CFR 117.5(a)) |
| Soluble solids | At least 65% in the finished jam (21 CFR 150.160(d)(5)) |
What a process authority's review of a pepper jam produces is in process authority letter. What a full food safety plan contains is in what is a food safety plan, and how jam earns its name in jam labeling requirements. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: the hazard analysis
Tangipahoa Berry Farm, a made-up strawberry farm in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, makes strawberry jam in its licensed farm kitchen from berries too ripe for the quart baskets. A grocery chain asked for a HACCP plan before taking the jam:
| Step | Hazard | Reasonably likely? | Control | CCP? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving berries | Pathogens on fruit; mold | Yes | Destroyed by the cook; moldy berries culled | No |
| Washing and hulling | Soil, stems | No | Wash and sort | No |
| Cooking | Too little sugar or acid to keep the jam safe | Yes | Cook to the soluble solids and pH the process sets | CCP 1 |
| Filling and capping | Contamination of jar and lid; a weak seal | Yes | Fill at or above the process's temperature, cap, invert | CCP 2 |
| Glass jars | Glass fragments | No | Jars inspected and inverted before filling, glass policy | No |
| Cooling and labeling | Wrong label | No | Label check, prerequisite program | No |
The plan
| CCP | Critical limit | Monitoring | Corrective action | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCP 1 Cook endpoint | Soluble solids 65% or more; pH at or below the process's limit (example: 3.8) | Refractometer and calibrated pH meter, each batch | Keep cooking or add acid as the process allows; re-test; hold the batch if it can't be brought in | pH meter calibrated before each day's use; records reviewed weekly |
| CCP 2 Fill temperature | Jam at or above the process's fill temperature (example: 185°F), jars inverted | Probe the kettle at the start and end of each fill | Reheat; refill or reprocess jars filled cold; hold them | Thermometer checked daily; seal check after cooling |
The example numbers are placeholders: the farm's process authority set its real pH limit and fill temperature for this recipe and jar.
A week of records
| Date | Lot | CCP | Reading | Limit | OK? | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6 | SJ-0406 | Soluble solids | 66% | 65% or more | Yes | |
| Apr 6 | SJ-0406 | pH | 3.4 | 3.8 or below | Yes | |
| Apr 6 | SJ-0406 | Fill temperature | 188°F | 185°F or more | Yes | |
| Apr 8 | SJ-0408 | Soluble solids | 63% | 65% or more | No | Cooked 6 more minutes, re-tested at 65.5% |
| Apr 8 | SJ-0408 | Fill temperature | 182°F | 185°F or more | No | Kettle reheated; 12 jars filled cold were reprocessed |
The low solids came from very wet late-season berries, which is why the cook endpoint is a measurement and not a timer.
Get the worksheet
Download the jam HACCP plan worksheet. Four sheets: the hazard analysis, the HACCP plan with a place to sign, a monitoring log that checks each reading against its limits, and a read-me. It's a worksheet to organize your own plan, not a plan to copy. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Every batch has three readings, every jar belongs to a batch, and the grocery chain wants to know which jars to pull if a batch was filled cold. A binder by the stove gets sticky and incomplete.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's readings on its batch record, with its lot.
Readings on the batch. Fields of your own on the batch record hold the soluble solids, the pH and the fill temperature, and printable batch-record forms carry a sign-off.
Held until checked. A batch can be held, kept out of what's available to sell, until its readings are reviewed.
Where it went. Each grocer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every store a batch reached.
| The job | Binder by the stove | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A batch's pH and solids | A sticky page | Fields on the batch record |
| Jars filled cold | A note on the case | A hold until released |
| Which stores got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Recipes, batches, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.