Kitchen guide

Before the first shift

1. Administrator: create kitchens and protected manager accounts. Staff use the kitchen frontend without signing in.
2. Manager: add each fridge, freezer and hot-holding unit, plus opening, closing or cleaning checks. Set check times and operating days.
3. Review and validate limits, cooling processes, measurement methods and monitoring frequency against your written HACCP plan. Record the control review.
4. Train staff to measure temperatures correctly, sanitise probes, act on problems and report missing checks honestly.

During a shift

Select the kitchen, enter your name or initials, choose the check type and record the actual measured value and time. Names entered on the frontend are self-reported; manager actions require sign-in. Select a scheduled slot when completing a planned check. Extra readings remain extra readings. A reading over 15 minutes old needs an explanation. A scheduled check over 30 minutes late also needs a reason. A failed check requires immediate action notes.

Cooking and reheating require continuous holding time as well as temperature. Cooling is a two-stage record: start when cooking ends, then save the actual finish time, temperature and chilled-storage location. An unfinished cooling record becomes overdue when its target time passes. Dashboard counts update when the page is refreshed; there are no automatic sensor readings or background notifications.

When something goes wrong

Protect the food and follow your approved corrective procedure. Record action and follow-up measurements against the original check. Managers must record the final disposition. A passing follow-up does not erase the original failure. Corrections are explanatory additions; they cannot silently replace a reading. A manager may document disposal, rejection or another justified outcome.

Rice needs particular care

Cool promptly, ideally within one hour, then refrigerate. Use refrigerated cooked rice within 24 hours and reheat only once. The portal starts rice cooling with a configurable house target of ≤8°C within 60 minutes. This is a stricter numeric house control, not a quotation of a universal FSA cooling limit. Review the actual process for your batch sizes and equipment.

Starting limits and assumptions

• Fridges and chilled deliveries: operating target ≤5°C; readings above 5°C need attention and above 8°C are critical. Product instructions may require colder conditions.
• Freezers and frozen deliveries: example operating target ≤−18°C. Check the food and supplier specification as well.
• Hot holding: ≥63°C. The portal flags all readings below this threshold; it does not automatically apply time exceptions.
• Cooking / reheating: house standard ≥75°C continuously for at least 30 seconds. Other validated combinations exist. Review Scotland’s specific reheating requirements before use there.
• General cooling: example house target ≤8°C within 90 minutes. This requires validation for your process; it is not a universal legal limit.
• Probe checks: example ice-point tolerance −1 to +1°C; boiling-point tolerance 99 to 101°C at normal atmospheric pressure. Follow manufacturer instructions and account for boiling-point variation.

Review and evidence

Managers should review missed slots and exceptions daily. A daily review is a snapshot of what was known at the time. Schedule revisions preserve earlier slots. Download CSV for a machine-readable record including events, reviews and schedule evidence. Use Print / save as PDF for a readable inspection report. Reports use measured dates; later follow-up events are included with their own timestamps.

Scope and responsibility

This portal supports monitoring and corrective-action evidence. It does not replace a food-business-specific HACCP plan, staff training, hazard analysis, supplier controls, allergen management or competent food-safety advice. It is manually entered and requires an internet/server connection. It does not certify food safety or guarantee a hygiene rating. Application records are append-only through the portal; a server/database administrator can still modify the database. Maintain independent backups.

Official sources

Starting guidance checked 22 October 2026. Review it periodically and when your menu, processes or location change.

• GOV.UK — Cooking, reheating and hot holding
• GOV.UK — Chilling and freezing
• GOV.UK — Food safety management systems
• Food Standards Agency — Rice storage and reheating
• Food Standards Scotland — CookSafe
• Food Standards Agency — Safer food, better business (including probe checks)