Moving from paper food-safety logs to an app

1. Keep your paper records

Don’t throw away paper logs when you start using an app. Keep them for as long as your own procedure and any legal or contractual requirement says — there is no single retention period that suits every record and business, so check with your adviser.

2. Pick a start date and write it down

Choose a day when the app becomes the record. Note it on the last paper sheet so anyone looking later knows where the history continues.

3. Copy your setup, not your history

Enter your fridges and freezers with the ranges you already work to, your cleaning tasks and how often each is due, and what you check on deliveries. Check each value against your food-safety management system — an app’s defaults are only a starting point.

4. Give each person their own login

Shared logins hide who did what. Invite each staff member so their name appears on the records they make.

5. Run both for a few days if it helps

Some teams run paper and app side by side for a short time. If you do, decide in advance which one is the official record for those days.

6. Check you can find things

Before you rely on it, practise: find yesterday’s fridge readings, a delivery by batch code, and export a week of records.

Where to read more

The FSAI explains the principles of HACCP and publishes the Safe Catering pack. This guide is general information, not advice for your business and not endorsed by the FSAI.