Hygiene and food safety

Restaurant Hygiene Inspection Form

Complete this form at least once a week before service begins. Do not wait for a local authority inspection, which may be unannounced. This form does not replace the daily cleaning schedule. That schedule records wiping and sweeping, while this form examines food handling, pests, handwashing, and the cold chain in more detail.

This form does not replace an official inspection. It is an educational preparation tool and does not change your local authority or food registration obligations. A regularly completed record can still show that you made the round when an inspection takes place. The safe food and QR code guidance explains separately where this round sits within the applicable framework. Confirm local requirements in writing.

Making the round twice during inspection week does not fill gaps from earlier days. If a cleaning schedule exists for a missed day, file it as well. If you find signs of pests, contact your pest control or cleaning provider that day and record the time. A verbal report does not close the item. If the kitchen and dining area are assigned to different people, each area should have separate initials. One set of initials can make an unvisited area appear to have passed.

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How to use this form

  1. The chef or manager should walk through the kitchen, dining area, and restroom in order. Completing the sheet from an office does not count as a round.
  2. On every line, yes indicates compliance and no indicates a problem. Resolve every no response that day. Do not begin service while a cold-chain, handwashing, or pest-control item remains open.
  3. Record signs of pests, cold-chain deviations, and missing handwashing supplies in the notes column. Write what you observed without adding a diagnosis.
  4. During this round, also review blank boxes on the daily cleaning schedule. If that schedule is incomplete, the hygiene inspection is incomplete as well.
  5. Add the date and initials beside each resolved item. Any work left open becomes the first line of the following week's round.
  6. Sign the form and keep it in the inspection file. When an inspection takes place, have the official documents required in your area ready alongside these sheets.

How this maps to Ritapos

The hygiene round is performed by observation. Ritapos records recipes, stock dates, and QR menu prices, but it cannot see a cold room door or soap supply. Use both during the same week. Leaving an expired product because it still appears in stock would conflict with a no response on this form.

A temperature outside your set limit on the cold-chain form should also appear as a no response in the hygiene round. If the two sheets tell different stories, one has not been completed fully. The safe food guide separates the risks this round covers from those that require official documentation.

This form is an educational checklist. It does not change your local authority, food registration, or occupational health and safety obligations. Confirm local requirements in writing.