Daily opening & closing checks

What you need to know

The plain-English guidance that comes with this document.

• Two minutes that catch the big stuff. A failed fridge overnight, out-of-date stock, a sick colleague, the first sign of a mouse — these are exactly the things a quick open-and-close routine catches before they become a closure or a poorly customer. It's the cheapest food safety you'll ever do.
• Opening is about "is it safe to start?" Cold units at temperature, nothing out of date, a clean kitchen from last night, handwashing sorted, and everyone well enough to work. If something's wrong, fix it before you serve — don't work around it and hope.
• Closing is about "have we left it safe?" Food stored and cooled properly, fridges shut, cleaning done, waste out, and nothing left to feed pests overnight. A tidy, clean close is what makes tomorrow's open easy.
• The 48-hour rule matters here. Anyone who's had diarrhoea or vomiting must stay away from food handling until 48 hours clear of symptoms. The "fit to handle food" tick is a real check, not a formality — use your fitness-to-work form if someone reports feeling ill.
• Note the problems — that's the point. A checklist that's always perfect looks less credible than one that occasionally records "fridge warm — moved stock, called engineer". Recording that you spotted and fixed something is exactly what good food safety looks like.
• It's part of Safer Food, Better Business. SFBB (the FSA's free system) is built around daily opening and closing checks like these. Use SFBB as your overall food safety management system and let this form do the daily record.
• Applies UK-wide. Daily checks are good practice and expected everywhere. The FSA and Food Standards Scotland provide free diaries and templates you can adapt.