Which of the following is NOT a key component of a food safety plan?

A food safety plan is a structured approach to ensuring the safety of food products throughout the processing and handling stages. The key components of such a plan typically include hazard analysis, critical control points, and verification and record-keeping.

Hazard analysis involves identifying and assessing potential hazards that could pose a risk to food safety. This is essential for developing preventative measures against foodborne illnesses.

Critical control points (CCPs) are specific stages in food production where controls can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to acceptable levels. Recognizing and managing these points is crucial for maintaining food safety standards.

Verification and record-keeping are also fundamental elements, as they involve monitoring processes to ensure that food safety measures are being followed and documenting compliance. This provides a traceable history that can be used to confirm that proper procedures are actually being implemented on a consistent basis.

Ingredient sourcing, while important for ensuring the quality and safety of food products, is not a direct component of a food safety plan. It pertains more to the procurement and quality assurance aspects rather than the systematic methods for managing food safety risks that the other components address. Therefore, ingredient sourcing is the correct answer to the question as it does not fit within the primary structure of a food safety plan