Principle seven
The seventh principle is to establish documents and records suited to the nature and size of the business. A record is the proof that a check happened and what it found. Inspectors ask to see records because they cannot be in your kitchen every day. If it is not written down, it is difficult to prove that it was done.
Documents and records
- Documents say what should happen. They include the HACCP plan, flow diagrams, procedures and work instructions. They are kept up to date.
- Records show what did happen. They include temperature logs, cleaning sheets, delivery checks, corrective actions, calibration checks, training records and verification sign-offs.
Examples from the FSAI's Safe Catering pack
The FSAI's Safe Catering pack is a HACCP-based system for caterers. It includes record forms such as:
- goods-in (delivery) records
- refrigeration records for fridges and freezers
- cooking, cooling and reheating records
- hot-holding records
- cleaning records
- training records
You may use these forms, an electronic system, or your own forms, as long as they do the job.
Rules for good records
- Fill them in at the time of the check. Never in advance and never later from memory.
- Write real figures. A page of identical temperatures looks invented and suggests that nobody checked.
- Write clearly with the date, time, what you measured and your initials or signature.
- If you make a mistake, cross it out with one line so it can still be read, then write the correct figure and initial it. Do not use correction fluid or tear out the page.
- When a limit is missed, record the corrective action too, not only the reading.
- Keep records in one agreed place and do not take them home.
- For electronic records, know what to do if the system fails. Use paper until it is back.
How long to keep them
Article 5 says records must be kept for an appropriate period. The Regulation does not give a single number. The business chooses a period that suits its products. A common approach is to keep them for at least the shelf life of the food plus a margin, and longer for training and audit records. Your employer will tell you the rule at your workplace.
False records
Writing a reading you did not take is serious. The food may be unsafe and nobody knows. It also undermines the whole system and can mean that a business cannot show it complies. Both are matters for enforcement. If you are unable to complete a check, say so. Do not write a figure.
Records help you too
Good records protect the business and the staff. If a customer complains of illness, records of cooking, cooling and holding can show that the food was handled properly. They also show where the problem was, if there was one.
Traceability and withdrawal
Under Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18, a business must be able to say who supplied its food and which businesses it supplied. Records of suppliers and deliveries make this possible. If food is found to be unsafe, it is withdrawn from the market before it reaches consumers, or recalled from consumers who already have it. The FSAI publishes food alerts and recalls. Follow your workplace procedure: separate and label the product, record what you did, and tell your supervisor.
Key points
- Documents say what to do. Records show what was done.
- Fill records in at the time, with real figures, dated and initialled.
- Correct mistakes with one line. Never invent a figure.
- Records also support traceability, withdrawals and recalls.
In practice
An inspector asks a baker for the oven and cooling records for the last month. Every line has the same time and temperature, and the handwriting is identical. Staff admit they were filled in on Friday for the week. The inspector can no longer rely on any of the records. The business needs to show with new, honest records that its controls work.