Practical food safety guidance
Clear guidance on HACCP records, daily controls, corrective actions and inspection evidence—written for the people responsible for getting the work done.
Latest guidance
Each article answers a real operational question first, then shows where a connected digital record can reduce effort and strengthen evidence.
Most UK food businesses must register at least 28 days before trading, but registration is not the same as approval or proof of compliance. Here is what must be ready before opening.
Read the guide →Challenge a rating through the appeal route if it did not reflect the inspection. Use a right to reply for public context, or request a reinspection after completing every required improvement.
Read the guide →Care settings should map chilled ready-to-eat food from delivery to service, then verify shelf life, cold-chain, cleaning, supplier, staff and incident controls at every handover.
Read the guide →The 2026 FDA model adds food depth of no more than two inches as a cooling method and a separate approval-based process using continuous ambient monitoring. Here is how to tell them apart.
Read the guide →A substitute brand can change the allergens, precautionary warnings and composition of a familiar dish. Check and approve the exact replacement before it reaches preparation or sale.
Read the guide →Food packed before a customer selects it and sold by the same business may be PPDS. Its label must show the food name and a full ingredients list with regulated allergens emphasised.
Read the guide →A useful contamination-event plan tells staff how to isolate the area, protect food and people, clean and disinfect safely, manage waste, and document the response.
Read the guide →A food business must be able to identify its immediate suppliers and the businesses it supplies. Useful records connect those parties to the food, quantity, date and available batch or lot information.
Read the guide →A mock recall tests whether your team can trace a product, find affected stock, communicate clearly and account for the outcome before a real incident occurs.
Read the guide →Before donating surplus food, confirm that it is safe and acceptable, include the donation process in your food safety management system, and keep enough evidence to trace each handover.
Read the guide →The 2026 FDA Food Code clarifies when employees and customers may refill reusable food containers. Learn the model conditions and how to run a safe refill process.
Read the guide →Food handlers should normally remain away from open food until they have been free of vomiting and diarrhoea for 48 hours, counted from when symptoms stop naturally.
Read the guide →The 2026 FDA Food Code adds a model written-FSMS requirement, but it is not automatically law nationwide. Learn when the four-year clock starts and how to prepare.
Read the guide →Egg safety starts with an approved or reputable supplier, intact clean shells, controlled storage and procedures that prevent raw egg contaminating hands, equipment and ready-to-eat food.
Read the guide →Since 1 July 2026, certain ready-to-eat foods that can support Listeria growth face a stricter criterion through shelf life unless the operator can demonstrate that 100 CFU/g will not be exceeded.
Read the guide →A power cut turns temperature control into a timed food-safety incident. Here is how to protect stock, document decisions and verify refrigeration before normal operation resumes.
Read the guide →A safe defrosting procedure controls temperature, time and cross-contamination, confirms that food is fully thawed when required, and records what happened when the planned method was not followed.
Read the guide →A useful opening and closing checklist confirms that the site is safe to start trading, leaves food and equipment controlled at close, and records what happened when a check failed.
Read the guide →A boil water notice affects more than drinking water. Food preparation, ice, food-contact cleaning, utensils and water-fed equipment all need a controlled response and a recorded restart.
Read the guide →The FDA Food Code model uses a seven-day maximum for certain refrigerated ready-to-eat TCS food. Here is how to calculate Day 1, carry dates forward and act on missing marks.
Read the guide →A useful reheating log identifies the food and batch, records the actual check at the centre or coldest point, and shows what happened when the approved safe method was not achieved.
Read the guide →A useful cleaning schedule says what must be cleaned, how and when it must be done, which product and precautions apply, and who is responsible. The record then shows what actually happened.
Read the guide →Time as a public health control is a planned alternative to hot or cold holding—not permission to leave TCS food out. Here is what the procedure and each use record should show.
Read the guide →A useful cooking log identifies the food and batch, records the actual core temperature and any required holding time, and shows what happened when the safe limit was not reached.
Read the guide →A useful opened-food label identifies the product, when it was opened, its discard date or time, storage conditions and the person responsible — without extending the original use-by date.
Read the guide →A probe check should identify the thermometer, reference method, actual stabilised reading, pass or fail decision, corrective action and person responsible.
Read the guide →A useful delivery log connects the supplier, food and actual temperature to a clear accept, reject or hold decision — and records what happened when a delivery missed the site limit.
Read the guide →A useful hot-holding log identifies the food, shows when and where it was checked, records the actual temperature, and explains every action taken below 63°C.
Read the guide →Before accepting an allergy order, check whether shared tools and surfaces can be cleaned effectively. Some equipment needs a separate route or a clear refusal.
Read the guide →A useful cooling log shows whether cooked TCS food moved from 135°F to 70°F within two hours and reached 41°F within six hours — plus what the team did if it did not.
Read the guide →Training must fit the job. The record should show who was trained, what they learned, how competence was checked and when it needs reviewing.
Read the guide →The FDA's 2026 model Food Code adds a written employee illness policy. Here is what retail food operators should include and how to make it work on every shift.
Read the guide →Adding a deli or hot-food offer changes a convenience store from simple retail into a more complex food operation. Here is what should change in the food safety system before the offer scales.
Read the guide →Inspection is a point-in-time external check. Food safety assurance is the ongoing management evidence that shows controls are working before, between and after inspections.
Read the guide →A trustworthy digital food-safety record should show what control applied, who completed it, when it happened, what failed, what changed and how the issue was closed.
Read the guide →Supplier approval is more than keeping a contact list. The useful record shows why a supplier is acceptable, what products or assurances apply, what changed and what happened when something went wrong.
Read the guide →A digital HACCP app can make checks, records and corrective actions easier. A food safety management system is the wider system that defines the controls, responsibilities, verification and evidence behind them.
Read the guide →Multi-site food safety is not only about whether each location completed its checks. Head office needs clear evidence of controls, failures, corrective actions, verification and trends across every site.
Read the guide →Allergen management is not just a menu note. This guide explains the practical records a food business should keep to prove allergen information is current, staff know what to do and failures are followed up.
Read the guide →Food-to-go turns a convenience store into a small foodservice operation. This guide explains how digital HACCP helps teams control daily checks, exceptions and evidence without adding paperwork.
Read the guide →A withdrawal record should show exactly what product was affected, where it went, what each site did, how much stock was controlled and how the incident was closed.
Read the guide →Food safety records do not all share one retention period. The right period depends on the record type, product, applicable rules and how long the evidence may be needed.
Read the guide →A multi-site recall succeeds when every location receives the same instruction, removes the right stock, proves completion and escalates discrepancies quickly.
Read the guide →Forecourts and petrol stations increasingly sell chilled food, hot food, deli, bakery, coffee and food-to-go. This guide explains the core food safety checks site teams should complete and record.
Read the guide →Digital HACCP software costs depend on whether you are buying simple records, probes, sensors, setup, support or enterprise controls. This guide explains what to compare before choosing a system.
Read the guide →A recall can still matter after the best-before date if affected stock may remain in cupboards, stockrooms, freezers or customer homes. Here is how food businesses should check, remove and document it.
Read the guide →QR codes can help identify affected products faster, but they do not replace the operational proof a food business needs during a recall. This guide explains what to scan, record and verify.
Read the guide →When one ingredient is recalled, the response may affect more than one finished product, site or customer. This guide explains how to trace the ingredient, identify affected products and document the action taken.
Read the guide →A food safety incident is any safety or quality concern that may require action to protect consumers. This guide explains what to record from the first finding through containment, corrective action and review.
Read the guide →Food safety records are not just for inspection day. They show what happened when a control failed, what action was taken, and whether the risk was closed.
Read the guide →A practical guide to the actions and records a food business should complete after finding evidence of pests, from isolating food to verifying the fix.
Read the guide →Inspectors need reliable evidence that your food safety system is being followed—not paper for paper’s sake. Digital records work when they are complete, accessible and trustworthy.
Read the guide →A withdrawal removes food before it reaches consumers; a recall is needed when unsafe food may already be with them. The operational response must be fast and traceable.
Read the guide →Daily checks are a common starting point, but the right frequency should follow your HACCP system, risk and operating conditions. Here is how to set a practical schedule.
Read the guide →There is no single folder that suits every food business. Here is the practical evidence an inspecting officer is likely to expect—and what makes a record genuinely useful.
Read the guide →A corrective action is more than writing “staff reminded”. It should control the immediate risk, deal with affected food and reduce the chance of the problem happening again.
Read the guide →A high reading is not solved by writing it down. Here is the immediate response, product assessment and evidence trail a food business should work through.
Read the guide →What we cover
Temperature checks, cleaning, deliveries, hot holding, cooking and practical staff routines.
Missed work, failed readings, corrective actions, quarantine, withdrawals and incidents.
HACCP, verification, traceability, audit evidence and preparing for an inspection.
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