PREVRA Food Safety Audit: How to Check Your Own Kitchen Before the EHO Does
An internal audit finds the gaps before an inspector does. Here is how to run one, what to check, and how digital SFBB makes it a 10-minute exercise instead of a panic.
The EHO audits you. You should audit yourself first.
A food safety audit is a structured check of your food safety management system. It asks: are records being completed? Are temperatures within range? Are cleaning tasks signed off? Is the 4-weekly review current? Are staff certificates on file? An internal audit finds problems before they become EHO findings.
Most businesses never audit themselves. They wait for the EHO to tell them what is wrong. By then, it is too late — the rating has already dropped. A monthly internal audit takes 20 minutes and prevents months of damage to your reputation. Use our checklist as your audit framework.
The 5-point internal audit checklist
1. Records completeness. Are daily diary entries current? Any missing days? Temperature logs — any gaps? Cleaning sign-offs — any overdue tasks? This is the most common finding.
2. Temperature compliance. Check the last month of readings. Any out-of-range results? If yes, is there a corrective action recorded next to each one? An out-of-range temp with no action is worse than no record at all.
3. 4-weekly review status. Is your current review completed? When is the next one due? Missing reviews are the number one reason businesses drop from a 5 to a 3 on confidence in management.
4. Staff training records. Does every food handler have a current Level 2 certificate on file? Any new starters without training? Any certificates expired?
5. Premises walk-through. Are surfaces clean and intact? Handwash stations stocked? Pest-proofing intact? Waste managed? Bin area clean?
Why digital SFBB makes auditing trivially easy
With paper records, an internal audit means flipping through months of loose pages, trying to spot gaps by eye. With digital SFBB, you open the dashboard and see completion rates at a glance. Temperature graphs show trends over time. Out-of-range readings are flagged automatically. The 4-weekly review status is visible on the home screen. An audit that takes an hour with paper takes ten minutes with digital. See how digital SFBB works.
Prevra · Early access
Prevra is building a digital SFBB app.
The app is not ready yet. See the planned features and contact us about early access.
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