SFBB READY Automatic time-stamping
Every check is logged with the exact date and time it was completed. No more arguing with an EHO about whether the temperature was taken at 8am or filled in after the fact. The timestamps are automatic and tamper-proof.
SFBB Daily Checks
SFBB Opening & Closing Checks --- Your Daily Food Safety Routine
Opening and closing checks are the bookends of every day's food safety. They're what an EHO looks for first --- and what most businesses get wrong. Here's how to get them right, every single day.
Opening and closing checks are the foundation of any Safer Food Better Business system. Every day, your kitchen should start with a structured opening routine --- verifying fridge and freezer temperatures, confirming hand washing facilities are stocked, checking that cleaning from the previous close is complete, ensuring food prep surfaces are clean and sanitised, scanning for pest activity, confirming staff are fit for work, and inspecting incoming deliveries. At closing time, a second routine confirms final temperature readings, proper food storage, waste removal, surface sanitisation, and equipment securing. Done on paper, this takes as long to find the form as to fill it. Done digitally, it takes minutes --- with automatic timestamps, photo evidence, and remote manager verification built in.
Daily opening and closing checks
Why opening and closing checks are the foundation of SFBB.
Opening and closing checks aren't optional extras --- they're the daily routine that bookends every food safety system. When an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) walks into your premises, the first records they ask to see are your daily checks. If those records are incomplete, inconsistent, or missing entirely, it casts doubt on every other part of your SFBB pack --- whether it's your cleaning schedule, your temperature logs, or your 4-weekly reviews.
Think of it this way: your opening check confirms the kitchen is safe to operate. Your closing check confirms you're leaving it in a condition that won't create problems overnight. Together, they form a continuous chain of food safety accountability. Break one link, and the whole chain fails.
EHOs don't just check whether temperatures were right on the day they visit. They look for patterns: were checks done every day, at roughly the same time? Were issues recorded and acted on? Was there any day where checks were skipped? A single missed day can be explained. Multiple missed days suggest a systemic problem --- and that's when ratings drop.
Opening check routine
Opening checks: what to check before service.
Your opening checks should be completed before any food preparation begins. Here's the complete checklist:
Fridge & freezer temperatures
Record the temperature of every fridge and freezer. Fridges must be at or below 5°C; freezers at or below -18°C. If any unit is out of range, log it and take corrective action before storing food.
Hand washing facilities
Check that all hand wash basins have hot and cold running water, soap, and paper towels or a hand dryer. Restock if anything is low. Hand washing is your first line of defence against cross-contamination.
Cleaning completed
Verify that all tasks from the previous day's closing checklist were completed. Inspect surfaces, equipment, and floors. If anything was missed, clean it now and note it in the record.
Food prep surfaces
Confirm all food contact surfaces are clean and sanitised. This includes worktops, chopping boards, and any equipment that will come into contact with food. Use your sanitising chemical at the correct concentration.
Pest activity check
Inspect for any signs of pest activity --- droppings, gnaw marks, grease trails, or damaged packaging. Check your pest control monitoring points. Record any findings and contact your pest contractor if needed.
Staff fitness for work
Confirm that all staff are fit for work. Anyone with symptoms of foodborne illness --- diarrhoea, vomiting, infected skin wounds --- must be excluded from food handling. This is a legal requirement under food hygiene regulations.
Deliveries inspection
Inspect any incoming food deliveries. Check temperatures of chilled and frozen items, verify use-by dates, and ensure packaging is intact. Reject anything that fails these checks and record the rejection.
Equipment check
Verify that all essential equipment is working: probe thermometer is calibrated, dishwasher or glasswasher reaches correct rinse temperature, extraction fans are running, and hot-hold units are at temperature.
A thorough opening check takes about 5 minutes --- if your records are organised. With paper forms, you'll spend as long finding yesterday's sheet and the correct template as you do actually checking. With a digital SFBB system, open the app, follow the checklist, and every reading is automatically time-stamped and stored.
Closing check routine
Closing checks: securing food safety overnight.
Your closing checks protect your kitchen during the hours when nobody is watching. Here's the complete routine:
Final temperature readings
Take and record a final set of fridge and freezer temperatures. This confirms units are operating correctly at the end of service. If any unit is trending warm, you can arrange maintenance overnight rather than discovering it in the morning.
Food stored, covered & dated
All prepared food must be stored in sealed containers, labelled with the production date and use-by date. Raw and ready-to-eat foods must be stored separately, with raw meat on the bottom shelf to prevent drips.
Waste removed
Remove all food waste and general waste from the kitchen. Empty bins, replace liners, and ensure external bin areas are clean and secured. Accumulated waste overnight attracts pests and creates odours.
Surfaces cleaned & sanitised
All work surfaces, chopping boards, and food contact equipment must be cleaned and sanitised. Pay special attention to areas used for raw meat preparation. Use the correct cleaning chemicals at the right concentration and contact time.
Equipment turned off
Turn off non-essential equipment where appropriate. Ensure gas appliances, fryers, grills, and ovens are shut down safely. Check that extraction canopies are turned off after cleaning filters.
Doors & windows secured
Check that all external doors and windows are closed and secured. This is both a security measure and a pest prevention measure. Ensure fly screens are intact on any windows that must remain open for ventilation.
Cleaning schedule reviewed
Review the cleaning schedule to confirm all daily tasks are complete and to see what deeper cleaning tasks are due the following day. Flag anything that needs attention so the opening team is prepared.
Daily record signed off
The closing manager or supervisor should sign off the day's records, confirming that all checks were completed, all issues logged, and the kitchen is left in a safe condition. Include any notes for the morning team.
A complete closing routine takes about 10 minutes. When you're tired at the end of a shift, it's tempting to rush or skip steps. This is where digital records are invaluable --- the app prompts you through every step, and because everything is time-stamped, there's no way to fake yesterday's close in the morning.
Digital daily checks
Why digital daily checks beat paper every time.
The most common reason businesses fail their EHO inspection isn't that they didn't do the checks --- it's that they can't prove they did them. Paper forms get lost, coffee-stained, or simply forgotten. Digital records solve this completely.
"The difference between a 3-star and 5-star hygiene rating often comes down to whether your opening and closing records are complete and consistent. One missed day creates doubt about every other day."
SFBB Ready --- Food Safety Team
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