HACCP for Kebab: Spit, Temperatures, CCP

In a kebab shop the whole HACCP system revolves around one thing: meat from the vertical spit. It is an unusual process - the meat is roasted in layers over many hours, the outer part is done and the inside of the block is still raw. That is why the spit is a natural candidate for a critical control point (CCP) in a kebab shop, and an inspector may ask how you keep it under control. This article shows how to lay out HACCP for a kebab: where the critical points are, which temperatures to watch and what to actually enter in the registers.

If you are only just opening your venue, start with the article how to open a kebab shop - Sanepid (the State Sanitary Inspection), premises inspection and documents. Here we go deeper into the documentation itself.

The key points in brief

• The spit is usually designated as a CCP (your hazard analysis decides this) - the control is the temperature inside the layer being sliced, not the look of the meat.
• Slice off only the outer, fully cooked layer - the inside of the block is to stay raw until it is cooked through.
• In your documentation adopt a cooking limit, for example ≥75°C at the coldest point - this is a value used in industry practice for poultry and minced meat; the rules do not give a figure, and critical limits are set by the operator (Art. 5(2)(c) of Regulation 852/2004).
• Salads and sauces are separate points - you control the storage temperature and the time since opening.
• A register without entries does not prove that the system works - documents and records are to demonstrate the effective application of control measures (Art. 5(2)(g) of Regulation 852/2004).

Why the spit is a critical point

In a normal kitchen you process a portion of meat as a whole - you put it in, fry it, take it out. A spit works differently. A block of meat turns by the heater for hours, and you slice thin slices off the outside. This means two hazards:

• Undercooking - slicing off a layer that has not reached a safe temperature inside.
• The danger zone - parts of the block that stay too long at 5-60°C, where bacteria multiply fastest (the 5-60°C range is a popular description from HACCP guides; the rules do not set it).

That is why in the hazard analysis the spit is usually indicated as a CCP: it is the stage at which you really eliminate the hazard (heat treatment) and which can be measured. Whether a given stage is a CCP is decided by the hazard analysis in your establishment (Art. 5(2)(a)-(b) of Regulation 852/2004) - the rules do not name the spit. How critical points are set in general, we explain in the article CCPs in foodservice - how to set them.

The temperatures you need to know

The safety of meat depends on a combination of temperature and time. Regulation 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter IX, point 5) requires storage at temperatures that do not cause a risk to health and does not allow a break in the cold chain, but it does not give figures for retail, and Regulation 853/2004 does not in principle apply to restaurants (Art. 1(5)(a)). The figures below are values from industry practice that you adopt in your documentation:

• ≥75°C at the coldest point - the temperature adopted in practice for fully cooked meat (poultry, minced meat). This is the value to which you reheat meat and which you verify with a probe thermometer.
• below 5°C - storage of raw meat, salads and sauces in the fridge.
• the 5-60°C zone - the range in which food should not stand for longer than necessary; the shorter, the better.

A probe thermometer with a current calibration is the basic tool - without it a CCP is only theory. You will find the full list of values in the table of storage and processing temperatures.

How to keep meat from the spit under control - step by step

1. Slice off only the outer layer. You take slices off only when the outer part is golden and cooked. The inside of the block is to stay raw until its turn at the heater.
2. Check the temperature of the slices. From time to time (for example at the start and during the peak) measure the temperature of freshly sliced meat with a probe thermometer. This is your CCP measurement.
3. Do not slice "in advance". Meat sliced off and set aside in a container quickly falls into the danger zone. Slice to order or keep it in hot holding.
4. Reheating to ≥75°C. If meat from the spit is to be used later (for example reheated in a pan or on a grill), it should reach the limit from your documentation (in practice, for example, ≥75°C inside) - and you measure that too.
5. A decision at the end of the day. Define in the procedure what happens to the meat on the spit after closing. The simplest and safest: do not keep a partly cooked block until the next day.

Salads and sauces - the second front

Meat is not the only hazard. In a kebab shop the extras are equally important, because they are served cold and often prepared in advance.

Salads. Cabbage, cucumber, tomato, onion - cut and kept in the fridge below 5°C. Set a shelf life (for example prepared the same day) and do not top up a fresh batch into an old one in the same container.

Sauces. Sauces based on mayonnaise or garlic are an environment favourable to bacteria if they stand in the warm. Keep them cold, mark the date of opening and throw them away after the set time. A sauce left on the counter "for the whole day" is a typical non-conformity.

What to actually enter in the registers

Documentation describes what you do; a register proves that you do it. For a kebab shop the following registers are usually kept (the rules do not give a list of registers - the scope follows from your hazard analysis, Art. 5(2)(d) and (g) of Regulation 852/2004):

• Fridge and freezer temperature register - in practice daily (the rules do not give a frequency). How to keep it without copying entries, we describe in the text on the HACCP fridge temperature register.
• Spit CCP measurement - the temperature of the sliced/reheated meat, with date and signature.
• Cleaning and disinfection - slicer, knives, spit, counters. We show the template and the logic in the article cleaning and disinfection - a procedure that works.
• Goods receipt - meat temperature on delivery, use-by dates, supplier details (the ability to identify suppliers - Art. 18(2) of Regulation 178/2002).

A mistake that is easy to make: registers filled in "in advance" with the same pen at the end of the week. The inspector may recognise this. One real measurement a day is better than ten invented ones.

Mistakes in kebab HACCP worth avoiding

1. Documentation "for foodservice" without a word on the spit. A general template from the internet describes neither a vertical spit nor reheating - and that is the heart of your process.
2. No probe thermometer. A CCP without measurement does not exist. "By eye" is not a method of verification.
3. Slicing in advance. A container of meat standing on the counter during the peak is a straight road to the danger zone.
4. Sauces outside the fridge. Garlic sauce "to hand" all day is a classic non-conformity.
5. Empty registers. Perfect documentation and zero entries = a system only on paper.

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Is a kebab spit a CCP?

It depends on the hazard analysis in your establishment (Art. 5(2)(b) of Regulation 852/2004). Heat treatment of meat on the spit is a stage at which you eliminate a biological hazard and which can be measured (the temperature inside the layer being sliced), so in kebab shops it is usually designated as a critical control point.

To what temperature should kebab meat be heated?

The rules do not give a figure; in industry practice for fully cooked meat (poultry, minced meat) at least 75°C at the coldest point is adopted, and you write the critical limit in your documentation. You verify this temperature with a probe thermometer when reheating meat.

How long can salads and sauces be kept in a kebab shop?

Keep salads and sauces in the fridge at the temperature adopted in the documentation (in practice below 5°C - the rules do not give a figure) and set a shelf life for them (most often prepared the same day, sauces marked with the date of opening). Write the specific times in the procedure and keep to them - they are the evidence at an inspection, not declarations.

Ready HACCP matched to a kebab shop

The hardest part of kebab documentation is describing the spit, reheating and the handling of sauces so that it fits the real process - and is not a copy of a general template. The Foundation package from GastroReady gives ready HACCP, GHP (Good Hygiene Practice) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) procedures plus registers that you adapt to meat from the spit, salads and sauces in your menu.

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Legal status as of: 4 October 2026
Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (consolidated text of 24.03.2021): Art. 5(2)(a)-(d) and (g), Annex II Chapter IX point 5; Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 Art. 1(5)(a) (in principle does not apply to retail); Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 Art. 18(2). The numerical values in the text (≥75°C, below 5°C, the 5-60°C range, measurement frequency) are industry practice - we found no rules setting them for retail. We did not check: requirements for spit producers (kebab from meat blocks supplied from an establishment - the scope of Reg. 853/2004 and national rules), supplying food to other establishments (Art. 1(5) of Reg. 853/2004), written guidance of individual PPIS (county sanitary inspectors).
Last review: 4 October 2026