A free, printable corrective action form for food businesses — record the problem, the action taken, the root cause and follow-up. Aligned with the FSANZ Food Standards Code. Free PDF.
A corrective action is what you do when a control fails or a hazard appears, to make food safe again and stop the problem recurring. Examples include discarding food that spent too long in the danger zone, repairing a fridge, or retraining staff. Recording it shows you manage issues properly.
Written records demonstrate due diligence, showing council and auditors that you identify and fix problems systematically rather than let them slide. They also reveal recurring issues so you can address the root cause, and they protect your business if a food safety incident is ever investigated.
It should capture the problem and when it was found, who identified it, the immediate action taken, the likely cause, follow-up steps to prevent a repeat, and a sign-off with date. This gives a complete record from the issue through to the fix and verification.
Use the 2-hour/4-hour rule to assess it. If potentially hazardous food has been between 5C and 60C for more than four hours in total, discard it. Record the decision, the times and temperatures involved, and the action taken on your corrective action form.
Usually the staff member who finds the problem raises it, and a supervisor or the Food Safety Supervisor on shift confirms the action and follow-up. Naming a responsible person on the form keeps accountability clear and ensures the fix and any prevention step actually happen.
Yes. This tool gives you a free printable form, and FoodSafety HQ can capture corrective actions digitally, so an out-of-range check or failed audit item prompts an action on a phone, with photos, sign-offs and follow-up all recorded and stored for inspections.