Deficiencies in ______ and ______ are the two main causes of failure of a food safety system.

• A. Design and Execution
• B. Sanitation and Training
• C. Prerequisite Programs and HACCP
• D. Records and Verification

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that a food safety system fails when the plan isn’t right for the operation or isn’t carried out as intended. If the design is flawed, hazards may not be properly identified or controlled, so even flawless execution won’t prevent problems. On the other hand, if the design is solid but execution is poor—procedures not followed, monitoring skipped, corrective actions not taken—the controls won’t be applied effectively and hazards can slip through. So, deficiencies in how the system is designed and how it is implemented are the main reasons it fails.

Sanitation and training are essential support, but they’re part of how the system operates rather than the fundamental failure points. The framework (prerequisite programs and HACCP) and the records/verification activities matter, but the core failures occur when the plan itself isn’t properly designed or isn’t executed correctly.