What records does a commercial kitchen need in the UK?
There is no single universal folder of daily forms that every food business must complete. The records you need depend on your food-safety management system, the nature and size of the business and the controls needed to show that food is being produced safely.
Start with your food-safety management system
For many smaller restaurants, cafés and similar businesses, the Food Standards Agency points businesses toward Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) as a simpler approach to food-safety management. More complex operations may use a HACCP-based system appropriate to their processes.
The important point is that procedures should reflect the hazards and controls in the actual business, and staff should follow them in practice.
Traceability and supplier records
The FSA SFBB material specifically highlights keeping records of food products purchased, who they were bought from, the quantity and date, with invoices and receipts often being the simplest evidence. Allergen information also needs to be available and controlled appropriately.
Operational records should match your controls
The FSA explains that SFBB does not require businesses to create large amounts of paperwork simply for the sake of it. The diary is a minimum part of the SFBB approach, while additional records may be needed depending on the size and nature of the business.
In practice, a kitchen may decide that temperature checks, cleaning schedules, probe calibration, opening and closing checks or other records are useful evidence because they support the controls identified in its food-safety system.
Good records are evidence, not the objective
A stack of completed forms does not by itself prove that a kitchen is well managed. Records should support safe working practices and help management identify failures, take action and demonstrate that controls are maintained.
TKEG is independent of the Food Standards Agency. Its role is to help businesses organise these records digitally; the food business remains responsible for deciding and implementing an appropriate food-safety management system.
Keep exploring kitchen compliance
Common questions
Does every commercial kitchen need to record every fridge temperature every day?
Not every business has an identical record-keeping requirement. Your monitoring and records should follow the controls in your food-safety management system and the nature of your operation.
Do I need to keep supplier invoices?
Traceability records are important. FSA SFBB guidance identifies invoices and receipts as a common way to retain information about food purchased and its supplier.
Can records be digital?
Digital systems can be used to organise food-safety records provided the business can maintain, retrieve and use the information appropriately.
Turn the paperwork into a working system.
TKEG brings food-safety records, compliance evidence and kitchen management together.