An establishment employee did not perform thermometer calibration as written in the HACCP plan. What type of noncompliance is this?

• A. Monitoring
• B. Verification
• C. Recordkeeping
• D. Corrective Actions

Answer: (B)

Calibrating thermometers is part of the verification activities in HACCP. Verification is about confirming that the HACCP plan is being implemented correctly and that the monitoring data used to judge control at critical points are accurate. When thermometer calibration isn’t performed as written, the measurements used to monitor critical limits can be unreliable, so you can’t be sure the process is actually in control. That makes it a verification issue—the step that ensures the monitoring itself is trustworthy and the plan is valid.

Monitoring focuses on collecting data at the critical control points to see if limits are met. Calibration supports the integrity of that monitoring by ensuring the instruments themselves are accurate. Recordkeeping and corrective actions are related but address different aspects: records would document calibrations, and corrective actions are taken after a deviation is found. The core problem here is that the verification step—ensuring the monitoring data are accurate through proper calibration—was not completed.