Documenting food safety checks and activities to provide evidence that safe food handling is being carried out.
Documenting food safety checks and activities to provide evidence that safe food handling is being carried out. Record keeping is the practice of documenting food safety activities so there is evidence they took place. Records can cover temperature checks, cooking and cooling, cleaning and sanitising, corrective actions, supplier details, staff training and thermometer calibration. Together they show that a business is managing food safety, not just claiming to. Good records serve several purposes. They help staff spot trends and problems, they provide evidence for inspectors and auditors, and they support a due diligence position if something goes wrong. The saying that if it is not written down it did not happen captures why records matter for demonstrating compliance. The level of record keeping required depends on the business. Standard 3.2.2A introduced record keeping expectations for certain higher risk food service and retail businesses, which may need to substantiate that they control key food safety practices. Businesses with a food safety program under Standard 3.2.1 must keep the records their program requires. In day-to-day operation, records are usually temperature logs, cleaning schedules, goods receipt checks and corrective action notes. Records can be paper or digital, but they need to be accurate, completed at the time and kept long enough to be useful for audits and investigations. A Darwin takeaway keeps a daily temperature log for its fridges and hot holding unit, a cleaning schedule signed off each shift and a folder of supplier invoices. When an environmental health officer visits, these records demonstrate the business is consistently controlling food safety.
Frequently asked questions
Why is record keeping important?
Records provide evidence that food safety checks were done, help identify problems, support audits and inspections, and underpin a due diligence position.
What records should a food business keep?
Commonly temperature logs, cooking and cooling records, cleaning schedules, corrective actions, supplier details, training records and thermometer calibration.
Are records mandatory in Australia?
It depends on the business. Standard 3.2.2A introduced record keeping for certain higher risk businesses, and businesses with a food safety program under Standard 3.2.1 must keep required records.
Can records be kept digitally?
Yes. Paper or digital records are both acceptable, provided they are accurate, completed at the time and available when needed.
How long should records be kept?
Long enough to be useful for audits, inspections and investigations. Any period set by a business food safety program or regulator should be followed.
