Restaurant Health Inspection Checklist Template

What the Restaurant Health Inspection Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Set Up the Self-Inspection

   5 tasks

   Answer which rules apply first: it adds the notes for your country to the tasks, the right-to-reply task where the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme applies, and the person-in-charge task for US rules. Every due date up to the visit counts from the self-inspection start date.

   • Record the restaurant, the start date and who leads the self-inspection — the site, the date the self-inspection starts, which every due date up to the visit counts from, the food safety lead who runs it and the manager who signs it off
   • Read the last inspection report — the rating or result, every point the officer raised, and whether each one was put right
   • Estimate when the next inspection may come — officers usually arrive without an appointment, so aim to be ready at any time; how often a business is inspected depends on the risk it poses
   • Check the business details the authority holds — the name, address and type of business on your registration or permit, so the rating or report is issued against the right business
   • Plan the walk-through by area and shift — who checks each area and when, during normal service, so you see the kitchen the way an officer would
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Records Check

   8 tasks

   UK officers judge how food safety is managed: processes, training and systems. In the US the person in charge must keep active managerial control of the foodborne illness risk factors. Records are how both see it. Record one result for each check.

   • Check the food safety management system matches today’s menu — the SFBB pack, Safe Catering pack or HACCP plan covers every dish, supplier, piece of equipment and process you use now
   • Check the daily diary or food safety logs — every day signed for the opening and closing checks, problems and what was done about them written down, and the 4-weekly review completed
   • Check the temperature records — fridge, freezer, cooking, hot holding and cooling readings that are real numbers, the action taken whenever one was out of range, and the probe thermometer checked
   • Check the cleaning schedule and records — every item signed off at its frequency, deep cleans done, and food-contact surfaces sanitised with the right product used the right way
   • Check the training records — every food handler trained for the work they do, with dates, including new starters and anyone who has changed role
   • Check the pest control records — the contractor’s visit reports or your own checks, with every recommendation acted on and none left open
   • Check supplier and traceability records — who supplies each food, with what was delivered, how much and when, and the invoices, so any ingredient can be traced back
   • Check allergen information and the staff illness rule — the allergen information matches every dish on today’s menu, and every food handler knows to report illness before starting work
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Walk-Through by Area

   7 tasks

   Walk each area during normal service, the way an officer would. UK officers look at how hygienically food is handled and the physical condition of the business. The FDA names five risk factors: improper holding temperatures, inadequate cooking, contaminated equipment, food from unsafe sources and poor personal hygiene. Add every problem to the action table in Phase 4.

   • Check deliveries and dry stores — chilled and frozen deliveries cold enough, packaging undamaged, goods what you ordered, and stock stored off the floor, in date and rotated
   • Check fridges, freezers and cold-held food — probe the food, not only the display, and check it is covered, labelled, in date and stored so raw food cannot drip onto ready-to-eat food
   • Check preparation areas — raw and ready-to-eat food kept apart, separate or properly cleaned equipment and boards, and surfaces cleaned and sanitised between tasks
   • Check cooking, hot holding and cooling — probe a cooked dish, food in hot holding and food being cooled, and compare each reading with the limits in your food safety plan
   • Check handwashing, toilets and staff hygiene — basins free to use, with hot water, soap and towels, hands washed at the right times, clean clothing, cuts covered, and toilets clean
   • Check washing up and chemicals — the dishwasher or sink reaching its wash temperature or sanitiser strength, clean items stored clean, and chemicals kept away from food
   • Check the structure, equipment, pest proofing and waste — walls, floors, ceilings and equipment in good repair and easy to clean, lighting and ventilation working, no gaps pests could use, and bins lidded and emptied
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Corrective Actions by Owner

   7 tasks

   Every finding gets an owner and a date. Anything that puts food safety at risk is dealt with the same day; that task appears only when the walk-through found something.

   • List every finding with an owner and a date — in the action table, most serious first, from the records check and the walk-through
   • Deal with anything unsafe the same day — food at the wrong temperature or past its date thrown away, a blocked basin cleared, pest activity reported to the contractor, and what was done written in the diary
   • Book repairs and equipment work — with the contractor, a job reference and a date, for anything that cannot be fixed in-house
   • Brief or retrain staff on what was found — for example handwashing, probe use or answering allergen questions, with who was briefed and when
   • Bring missing or out-of-date records up to date — the food safety plan, diary, cleaning schedule, training records and allergen information
   • Re-check each action on the floor — walk the areas again and mark each action in the table done, with the date
   • General manager confirms the restaurant is inspection-ready — every finding is closed or has a date, and the records would stand up to an officer’s questions
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Inspection Day

   8 tasks

   Officers usually arrive without an appointment, so the first tasks are done in advance. Enter the visit date and time when the inspector arrives: the visit and follow-up tasks are dated from it. The person-in-charge task appears for US rules.

   • Name who hosts the inspector on every shift — the general manager, or the duty manager or person in charge when they are off, and how to reach the food safety lead
   • Keep the inspection file ready on site — the food safety management system, diary or logs, temperature, cleaning, training, pest control and supplier records, and the last report, in one place
   • Brief the team on what happens at an inspection — work as normal, answer from their own practice, and expect the officer to look at records and possibly take samples or photographs
   • US: make sure each person in charge can show food safety knowledge — under 2-102.11 they show it by having no priority item violations, by being a certified food protection manager, or by answering the inspector’s questions correctly
   • Check the inspector’s identification when they arrive — and record their name, the authority and the date and time of the visit, which the rest of the checklist counts from
   • Go round with the inspector and note what they look at — the areas visited, the records asked for, any samples or photographs taken and the questions put to staff
   • Put right what you can during the visit — and make sure each correction is noted on the report
   • Record the feedback at the end of the visit — what the inspector said, what to improve and by when, and any report or notice you were given
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Outcome & Follow-Up

   8 tasks

   Under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme you are told the rating in writing at the time of the inspection or within 14 days. In the US you get the report at the end of the inspection. The appeal task appears if you decide to appeal, and Phase 7 if you ask for a revisit.

   • Record the rating or result — as written in the letter or report, with the reasons given
   • List each improvement asked for, with its deadline — from the letter or report, with an owner for each; the officer says how quickly each one must be done
   • Make each improvement by its deadline and keep the evidence — photos, receipts and updated records for each item, which a request for a revisit will need
   • Display the rating or tell customers how to see the report — as the rules where you are require, on the premises and online where you choose to
   • Send a right to reply if it helps — a short written comment to the officer on what you have improved, or on unusual circumstances on the day, which is published with the rating
   • Decide the next step — keep standards up until the next planned inspection, ask for a revisit once the improvements are made, or appeal if you think the result is wrong
   • Appeal in writing within the time allowed — after speaking to the officer who gave the rating or result, with your reasons and evidence
   • General manager signs off the inspection record — every improvement has an owner and a date, the rating is displayed where required, and lessons are carried into the next self-inspection
7. 7
   Phase 7 — If you ask for a revisit

   Phase 7: Re-rating or Re-inspection Request

   7 tasks

   Shown only when you decide to ask for a re-rating or re-inspection. Nothing after the manager’s approval can be completed until a decision is recorded.

   • Confirm every improvement is complete — each item in the improvements table done, with photos, receipts or records as evidence
   • Check you can ask for a revisit now — from the rating letter or report and the authority’s rules for revisits
   • Check the fee and how soon the visit may come — from the rating letter, the authority’s website or a call to the food safety team
   • General manager approves the request and any fee — once every improvement is evidenced, since the officer will look at standards across the whole business
   • Send the written request with the evidence — to the officer who inspected, explaining what was done about each issue, with the payment where a fee is charged
   • Keep standards up until the revisit — the officer looks at standards generally, not only the items you fixed, so the rating can go up, down or stay the same, and you will not be told the date
   • Record the new rating or result — given in writing at the time or within 14 days, then displayed, and open to appeal or a right to reply as before