The Safe Catering pack explained: SC1 to SC9 in plain English

SC1 Food Delivery Records

SC1 is where you record food as it arrives at your door. Its job is to show that you only accept food that's safe: delivered at the right temperature, in date and in a clean vehicle. More about food delivery records.

What you record

• The date, the food item and who supplied it
• The batch code and use-by date, so you can trace it later
• The temperature of chilled, frozen or hot food on arrival
• Whether the delivery vehicle was clean and acceptable
• Any comments, and what you did if something wasn't right

The rules: Chilled food should arrive at 0°C to 5°C, frozen food at −18°C or colder, and hot food at 63°C or above. For a large delivery you don't need to probe everything; the pack says to check one or two products from it.

The comments column matters more than people think. If you reject a delivery or send something back, write it down. An empty comments column beside a high temperature is the first thing an EHO will ask about.

SC2 Fridge, Freezer & Chill Display Temperature Records

SC2 is your daily fridge and freezer check. It proves that chilled and frozen food has been kept cold every day, and shows what you did on the days a unit wasn't. More about fridge, freezer & chill display temperature records.

What you record

• The name or number of each fridge, freezer and chill display
• The temperature of each one, morning and evening
• Comments, and what you did about any reading out of range
• Who did the check

The rules: Fridges and chill displays should be at 0°C to 5°C, and freezers at −18°C or colder. The pack recommends checking at least once a day; most kitchens do it twice, at opening and closing.

A reading of 8°C with nothing written beside it looks far worse than a reading of 8°C with "door left open, food moved, rechecked at 3°C". Corrective action is what turns a problem into evidence that your system works.

SC3 Cooking, Cooling & Reheating Records

SC3 covers food you cook, and if you keep it, how you cool it and reheat it later. It's the record behind every soup, stew, rice dish or sauce made ahead of service. More about cooking, cooling & reheating records.

What you record

• The food and the time cooking finished
• The core temperature when it was cooked
• The time it went into the fridge or blast chiller, if it was cooled
• The core temperature when it was reheated
• Who did each stage

The rules: Cook to a core temperature of 75°C or above. Cool food as quickly as possible and get it into the fridge within two hours. Reheat to a core temperature of 70°C or above. You only need to record the time cooking finished if the food is going to be cooled.

Fill in only the stages you actually do. A dish cooked and served straight away just needs the cooking columns; the cooling and reheating columns are for food you keep.

SC4 Hot Hold & Display Records

SC4 is for food kept hot during service, in a bain-marie, hot cabinet or on a carvery. It shows the food stayed hot enough for the whole time it was out, not just when it went in. More about hot hold & display records.

What you record

• The food and the time it went into hot holding
• The core temperature at the first, second and third check
• Comments, and what you did if it dropped too low

The rules: Keep hot food at 63°C or above.

Our version of this sheet adds cold holding as well, for salad bars and chilled counters, since the same idea applies at 5°C or below.

SC5 Hygiene Inspection Checklist

SC5 is a checklist for the manager or supervisor to walk the kitchen with. It isn't about temperatures; it's about whether the premises and the way people work are up to standard.

What you record

• Hygiene of food rooms and equipment, including cleaning, chemicals and cloths
• Food storage: covering, separating raw and ready-to-eat, date codes, stock rotation
• Food handling practices, including how food is cooled and defrosted
• Personal hygiene, hand washing facilities and staff toilets
• Pest control and waste
• Whether checks and records are up to date and corrective actions taken
• A four-weekly review of suppliers, menu items and equipment

The rules: The manager ticks yes or no for each point and notes any action taken. The form lets you choose weekly, fortnightly or monthly checks.

This is the form that shows someone is overseeing the whole system, not just filling in temperatures. It's also where probe use and cleaning get checked.

We don't publish our own version of SC5. You can download the FSAI's form free from their Safe Catering record books page.

SC6 Hygiene Training Record

SC6 is a training record kept for each member of staff. It shows that everyone handling food has been told how your system works and has the training they need.

What you record

• The staff member's name, position and start date
• In-house training on the steps and hazards in your business, from deliveries to hot holding
• Training on hygiene requirements such as cleaning, pest control, personal hygiene and using and calibrating a temperature probe
• Any further training, such as external food safety courses, with dates and certificates

The rules: Keep copies of any certificates with the form.

SmartChef includes Level 1 and 2 online HACCP training for staff, with certificates stored in the app, which covers the further training part of this record.

We don't publish our own version of SC6. You can download the FSAI's form free from their Safe Catering record books page.

SC7 Fitness to Work Assessment

SC7 is used to check that a food handler is fit to work with food. The FSAI's pack uses it for new recruits, for existing staff, and for anyone returning to work after an illness.

What you record

• Who the assessment is for and when it was done
• Whether they have had any illness or symptoms that could be passed on through food
• The outcome, and who carried out the assessment

The rules: The detail of what to ask, and when someone should stay off work, is set out in the FSAI's pack. Use the FSAI's own form for this one.

This is the record kitchens most often forget about until someone comes back from a stomach bug. Keep a few blank copies with your staff files.

We don't publish our own version of SC7. You can download the FSAI's form free from their Safe Catering record books page.

SC8 All-in-One Daily Record

SC8 is a daily alternative to SC1, SC2, SC3 and SC4 for smaller businesses. Instead of four separate records, you fill in one sheet per day covering deliveries, fridge and freezer temperatures, cooking, cooling and reheating, and hot holding.

What you record

• The date
• Deliveries, with batch codes, use-by dates, temperatures and the vehicle check
• Fridge and freezer temperatures
• Cooking, cooling and reheating
• Hot holding checks

The rules: The same temperatures apply as on the individual forms: chilled 0°C to 5°C, frozen −18°C or below, cooking 75°C, reheating 70°C and hot holding 63°C.

It suits a café, food truck or small kitchen well. If you're filling more than a page a day, the separate forms are usually easier to keep tidy.

SC9 Transport & Delivery Records

SC9 is for food you deliver to customers, such as outside catering, events or deliveries to other premises. It shows the food arrived safely, not just that it left safely. More about transport & delivery records.

What you record

• The date, the food and its batch code or use-by date
• Who it was delivered to
• Whether raw and ready-to-eat food were kept apart in the vehicle
• The temperature of the food after transport

The rules: Chilled food should be 0°C to 5°C, frozen −18°C or below, and hot food 63°C or above. As with SC1, you can check one or two products from a large delivery.

Take the temperature when you arrive, not when you leave. That's the reading that tells you whether the journey kept the food safe.