HACCP Food Safety Check SOP Template

Purpose

Check every day that the critical control points in the food safety plan are under control, record the evidence, and take corrective action straight away when a limit is missed.

Scope

Covers the daily monitoring of delivery, cold storage, cooking, cooling, hot holding and cleaning controls in a food preparation kitchen. The full HACCP plan, allergen management and pest control programmes are separate documents.

Roles and responsibilities

Prerequisites

• The HACCP plan with the critical control points and critical limits written out
• Calibrated probe thermometers, with a spare, and probe wipes
• Temperature log sheets or the digital log, and a corrective action form
• Food safety training records for everyone who takes readings
• Sanitiser test strips and the correct dilution for the product in use

Procedure

1. Check the thermometer. Test the probe in iced water and in boiling water at the start of the shift, and compare with the expected reading. Take a probe out of use if it is outside the tolerance in your plan.
2. Check deliveries. On arrival, probe chilled and frozen goods and compare with your limits (for example chilled at 5 °C or below, frozen at minus 18 °C or below). Check dates, packaging and labels, and reject what fails. Record the supplier, product and reading.
3. Check cold storage. Read every fridge, freezer and cold display at the start of the shift and again at mid-shift. Record each reading against its limit and its unit name.
4. Check cooking. Probe the thickest part of cooked food and compare with the core temperature in your plan (for example 75 °C or above, or 70 °C held for two minutes). Record food item, time and result. If it is below the limit, keep cooking and re-probe.
5. Check cooling. Record start time and temperature of food being cooled. Check it reaches the limit within the time in your plan, for example from 63 °C to 8 °C or below within the period your plan allows, and refrigerate it as soon as it can be.
6. Check hot holding. Probe hot food every two hours, or the interval in your plan, and compare with the limit (for example 63 °C or above). Record the reading and the time food was put out so you can apply the maximum holding time.
7. Check cleaning and sanitising. Check surfaces that touch food are visibly clean, sanitiser is at the right strength with a test strip, and handwash basins have soap, paper towels and hot water.
8. Check personal hygiene. Confirm staff have clean uniform, wash hands at the right times and are free from illness symptoms as your policy says. Record anyone sent home.
9. Act on any reading outside a limit. Stop using the equipment or serving the food. Fix the cause (reheat, re-chill, call the engineer), decide what to do with affected food using the plan, and fill out the corrective action form with who decided and when.
10. Sign and review the records. The shift supervisor signs each day's sheet. The food safety lead reviews the week's records, looks for repeated problems and records the review date.
11. Verify the system. Check at least monthly that records are complete, thermometers are calibrated and the plan still matches what the kitchen makes, and update the plan when menu or equipment changes.

Revision history