Put your HACCP system in place
Anyone preparing or handling food has to run a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles — identifying where things can go wrong (raw meat, cooling, reheating, allergens) and writing down what you do to stop it.
Anyone preparing or handling food has to run a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles — identifying where things can go wrong (raw meat, cooling, reheating, allergens) and writing down what you do to stop it. You do not write this from scratch: the free official pack for your nation gives you the diary, the checklists and the record sheets, and you fill it in for your own kitchen and menu.
It is a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have, and it is the first document your EHO asks for on your first inspection. Turning up with nothing, or with a generic template you have never actually used, is one of the fastest ways to lose a mark on your hygiene rating.
England
Have it written and staff trained on it before you serve your first customer — start at least 5 weeks out so it is bedded in, not bolted on the night before.
Free
Free FSA pack for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Choose the caterers pack for a kitchen serving food to eat in or takeaway.
Scotland
Have it written and staff trained on it before you serve your first customer — start at least 5 weeks out so it is bedded in, not bolted on the night before.
Free
Free Food Standards Scotland manual, the Scottish equivalent of SFBB. Works through diary, opening/closing and 4-weekly checks.
Who this is for
Every venue that prepares, cooks or reheats food, from a full kitchen down to toasting sandwiches.
Applies regardless of size — a one-person kitchen still needs a working system, just a shorter one.
What you’ll hold
- Completed food safety management system pack (SFBB or CookSafe)
- Daily diary records signed by whoever opens/closes
Watch out for
- Filling the pack in once before opening and never touching it again — the EHO wants to see live daily diary entries, not a document that was completed as a one-off exercise.
- Copying a previous employer's or a friend's completed pack instead of working through it for your own menu and kitchen — the hazards and controls have to actually match what you do.
- Only the manager understanding the system — every food handler on shift needs to know what the diary is and how to use it, not just whoever set it up.
Sources
- FSA — Safer Food Better Business for caterers checked 2026-09-02
- Food Standards Scotland — CookSafe guide checked 2026-09-02
See also
- Probes, thermometers and the temperature log
- Build your 14-allergen matrix
- Level 2 food hygiene for every handler
- Get ready for your first inspection
- SFBB / CookSafe full review and re-sign— this becomes an ongoing job once you’re open →
This is item 35 of 66 in the free UK Launch Checklist. See the whole list →