Food safety guides, in plain English.
30 short guides for UK kitchens. Every number links to the official guidance it came from, and each guide says which UK nations it covers.
Temperatures
Fridges, freezers, hot holding, cooking and cooling.
What temperature should a restaurant fridge be? A UK guide
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland chilled food must be kept at 8 °C or below; set fridges to 5 °C or below. The rules, checks and records explained.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandFridge temperature log: free template and how to fill it in
A free printable fridge temperature log for UK kitchens, and how to fill it in properly: when to check, what to write, and what to do about a warm reading.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandWhat to do when a fridge reading is too warm
Your fridge reads above 8 °C. What to check first, when to move or throw food away, how to record it, and how to stop it happening again.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandHot holding and cooling: the temperatures to know
Hot food should be held at 63 °C or above, with a 2-hour exception. Cooking, reheating (82 °C in Scotland) and cooling temperatures for UK kitchens.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the Scotland reheating rule notedCake delivery temperature checks for cafes and bakeries
How to check chilled cake deliveries: what temperature to accept, what to look for, when to reject, and how to record it, for UK cafes and bakeries.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandHow to track cake rotation in a cafe
Keeping cakes on display safely: which cakes need chilling, the 4-hour rule for food out of the fridge, labelling, and how to log rotation in a cafe.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for Scotland
Inspections and ratings
What an EHO checks, and how food hygiene ratings work.
What does an EHO check on inspection day?
What an environmental health officer looks at during a food hygiene inspection, what records to have ready, and how to prepare your kitchen.
All four UK nations, with differences notedHow food hygiene ratings (0 to 5) work
What each food hygiene rating from 0 to 5 means, how it’s decided, display rules in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland’s Pass system.
All four UK nations, with differences notedGet your records ready for an inspection in ten minutes
The food safety records an EHO expects to see, how to organise them so anyone can find them, and a ten-minute routine to be ready for a visit.
All four UK nations, with differences notedWhat happens if you get a low food hygiene rating
Got a 0, 1 or 2 food hygiene rating? What it means, how to appeal, the right to reply, and how to request a re-rating visit once you’ve made improvements.
All four UK nations, with differences noted
The rules
SFBB, HACCP and how long to keep records.
Safer Food Better Business: what it is and who needs it
What the Safer Food Better Business pack is, what’s in it, who uses it, how the diary works, and the equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
All four UK nations, with differences notedSFBB diary or digital food diary? An honest comparison
Paper SFBB diary or a digital food safety diary app? What each does well, what to watch for, and how to decide for a UK cafe or restaurant.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandDo you need HACCP? Plain English for small kitchens
Every UK food business needs a food safety management system based on HACCP principles. What that means for a small cafe or restaurant, in plain English.
All four UK nations, with differences notedHow long should you keep food safety records?
How long a UK food business should keep diary pages, temperature logs and training records, what the guidance says, and a sensible approach.
All four UK nations, with differences noted
Checklists and cleaning
Opening, closing, cleaning, pests and waste.
Cafe opening checklist (free printable)
A cafe opening checklist covering fridges, hand-wash stations, surfaces, pests, staff fitness, allergens and the coffee machine. Free printable PDF.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandRestaurant closing checklist (free printable)
A restaurant closing checklist: PM fridge temps, food covered and labelled, hot food cooled, cleaning, waste and security. Free printable PDF.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandKitchen cleaning schedule template
How to write a kitchen cleaning schedule: what to clean, how often, with what, and who signs it. Includes disinfectant standards and a free template.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandA deep clean rota that gets done, day by day
How to set up a kitchen deep clean rota that actually gets done: one or two big jobs a day, signed by name, checked by a manager. Free template.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for ScotlandPest control checks in a kitchen: a daily walk-round
A daily pest control walk-round for kitchens: signs of rats, mice and insects to look for, prevention, what to do if you find them, and how to record it.
All four UK nations, with differences notedFood waste log: why keep one and how
Why a food waste log saves money, how to keep one in a cafe or restaurant, England’s food waste separation rules, and a free printable template.
England, with general advice for all UK kitchensFront-of-house food safety checks people forget
Front-of-house food safety checks that get forgotten: counter fridges, cake displays, ice, milk, allergen questions and hand washing between tasks.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for Scotland
Allergens
Natasha’s Law, the 14 allergens and allergen training.
Allergen training for kitchen and front-of-house staff
Why kitchen and front-of-house staff need allergen training, what it should cover, the Food Standards Agency’s free online course, and how to record it.
All four UK nations, with differences notedNatasha’s Law explained for cafes and takeaways
Natasha’s Law: food prepacked for direct sale needs a full ingredients label with allergens emphasised. What counts as PPDS and what labels must show.
All four UK nations, with differences notedAllergen information: what to show and where
UK food businesses must give information on the 14 allergens for food served loose. Written or verbal, how to signpost it, and best practice.
All four UK nations, with differences noted
Staff and training
Training levels, records and new starters.
Food hygiene training levels explained
What Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 food hygiene training mean, who usually takes which, and what the law actually requires of UK food handlers and managers.
All four UK nations, with differences notedStaff training records: what to keep and for how long
What to put in a food hygiene training record, how to keep certificates, when to refresh, and a free printable staff training record template.
All four UK nations, with differences notedOnboarding new kitchen staff safely in their first week
A first-week food safety induction checklist for new kitchen and front-of-house staff: hygiene, illness reporting, temperatures, allergens and records.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for Scotland
Running the diary
Paper vs digital, and getting the team to fill it in.
Paper food diary mistakes (and how to stop them)
The most common paper food diary mistakes inspectors see: batch-filled pages, identical readings, gaps, no actions. What causes them, and how to fix them.
All four UK nations, with differences notedHow to choose a food safety app: a ten-point checklist
Ten questions to ask before choosing a food safety or digital food diary app for a UK cafe or restaurant, from signing and offline use to honest claims.
All four UK nations, with differences notedWhat to do when staff won’t fill in the diary
Staff not filling in the food safety diary? Why it happens, and practical ways to make checks part of the shift instead of paperwork.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with notes for Scotland