A HACCP certificate is not a single, uniform document. Two exporters can both hold "HACCP certification" and mean very different things by it — one covering a single production line for one product category, the other covering the entire facility across every line it runs.
The badge on a company profile tells you almost nothing on its own. The scope statement — usually a page most buyers never ask to see — tells you what was actually audited.
Three fields to check before you rely on it
Scope: does it name the specific product category you're buying, or a broader facility scope that may not have covered that line. Issuing body: is it a recognized third-party certification body, not a self-issued or unaccredited local certificate. Expiry: HACCP certificates are typically reissued annually — a certificate more than 12 months old with no renewal on file is a reason to ask questions, not assume lapse.
What HACCP doesn't cover
HACCP addresses food safety hazard control, not export documentation, packaging compliance, or destination-market labeling requirements. A supplier can be fully HACCP-compliant and still ship you a product with a label that fails customs in your destination country. Those are separate checks worth asking about directly in your sourcing brief.