How to implement daily food safety checks

Your most important daily task is to check and record the temperatures of all your fridges and freezers. This must be done every day, ideally before you start service. Use a food safety diary, like the one provided in the Food Standards Agency's 'Safer Food, Better Business' pack, to log these checks. This simple, consistent record is the foundation of your food safety system and is one of the first things an Environmental Health Officer will ask to see during an inspection.

What Your Daily Checks Should Cover

While temperature is the headline act, your daily checks should be a quick health check of your whole operation. Make it a routine to look over the following areas:

• Fridge and Freezer Temperatures: Your fridges must be running at 5°C or below (though 0-4°C is best practice). Your freezers must be at -18°C or colder. Use a clean, calibrated probe thermometer to check the temperature of the air, not just the digital display on the unit.
• Food Storage: Quickly check that raw and cooked foods are stored separately, all food is covered, and anything that has been opened is labelled with the date. Ensure new deliveries are put behind older stock (a system known as 'First-In, First-Out' or FIFO).
• Cleaning Standards: Visually check that surfaces, equipment, and key areas are clean and ready for service, according to your cleaning schedule.
• Staff Health: A quick check-in with staff to ensure they are fit and well to work is a vital part of food safety.

Keeping Good Records: Your Food Safety Diary

Your logbook is more than just a notebook; it's your legal proof that you are managing food safety correctly. If you don't write it down, it didn't happen. Your daily record for each piece of equipment should include:

1. The date and time of the check.
2. The piece of equipment being checked (e.g., 'Salad fridge', 'Walk-in freezer').
3. The temperature reading.
4. The initials of the person who did the check.
5. A section for 'Corrective Actions' – what you did if something was wrong.

For example, if a fridge is too warm at 9°C, your corrective action might be: "Turned thermostat down. Checked door seal. Moved stock to other fridge. Re-checked after 1 hour, temp now 3°C. Stock returned." This shows you identified a problem and fixed it.

Tips for Success

• Make it a Habit: Do the checks at the same time every day, like when the first person opens the kitchen.
• Use a Template: You don't need to create a system from scratch. The FSA's free 'Safer Food, Better Business' pack for your type of business contains diary pages you can print and use.
• Train Your Team: Ensure more than one person knows how to perform the checks and what to do if a problem is found.
• Be Honest: Never, ever make up records. It's far better to have a record that shows a problem that you fixed than to have a perfect-looking diary that isn't true. Inspectors can spot faked records easily, and it's a serious offence.