Employee Training Log Template for a Food Business

An employee training log records who was trained in what, when, by whom, and how you know it took: one line per person per session, with the topic, the SOP and its version if there is one, the trainer, and a check that the person can do the job. For a food business it isn't only good practice. FDA's food manufacturing rule says everyone who makes, processes, packs or holds food, temporary and seasonal staff included, must be trained in food hygiene and food safety, including employee health and personal hygiene, and that records documenting that training must be kept (21 CFR 117.4). In the example below, a four-person kitchen's log shows everyone's hygiene training, but the matrix built from it catches a packer still trained on version 3 of the frying SOP, a week after version 4 changed the weight check. Below is what to record, the example, refreshers and SOP versions, how long to keep the log, and a free template.

The short version

• One line per person per session: date, topic, SOP version, trainer, how, and a check they can do it.
• Train everyone who handles food, temporary and seasonal staff too, in hygiene, health and food safety.
• Train each person on the SOPs for their own jobs, and note the version.
• When an SOP changes, everyone trained on the old version is retrained.
• Set refreshers, such as yearly, for training that isn't tied to an SOP.
• Keep the records; under FDA's rule, at least 2 years.
• TaroStack records who did each batch, on which recipe version, and limits what each role can do. More below.

What to record

The "checked doing it" column is the one that matters most. Reading an SOP isn't the same as frying to it, and a line that says someone was watched doing the job is better evidence than a signature under a handout.

What FDA's rule asks for

If your business falls under FDA's food manufacturing rules (21 CFR part 117), the training rule has three parts. Everyone who makes, processes, packs or holds food, and their supervisors, has to be qualified for their duties through education, training or experience. Each of them has to be trained in the principles of food hygiene and food safety, including the importance of employee health and personal hygiene, as fits the food, the facility and their job. And records documenting that hygiene and food safety training have to be kept (21 CFR 117.4), at the facility, for at least 2 years after they were made (21 CFR 117.315). Your state or local code, and your buyers, may ask for more. This is general information, not legal advice.

A worked example

Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, has four people: Kai, the owner; Leilani, a cook; Mika, a packer who started in June; and Noa, who drives and receives deliveries. Part of the log:

And the matrix built from it, who is trained on what:

Two gaps show at once. Mika packs chips to version 3 of the SOP, which had a different fill-weight check, so Mika is retrained on version 4 before the next run. And Mika handles product without allergen training yet, which goes on the list for this week. The SOP itself, and why its version matters, is in SOP template for food manufacturing.

Refreshers and SOP versions

Two kinds of training expire in different ways:

• General training like hygiene and allergens is refreshed on a set interval; the template uses a year, as an example. Set the interval your food safety plan, your buyers or your inspector expect.
• SOP training lasts until the SOP changes. A new version means everyone on the old version is retrained before they next do the job, whatever the date.

Training is also part of the wider record keeping a food business needs; what makes a record useful later is in food business record keeping, and where training fits among the other checks is in food quality control checklist.

Get the template

Download the employee training log template. The Training log sheet takes one row per person per session and works out when general training is due again. The Who is trained sheet shows each person's hygiene and allergen dates with refreshers shaded once they're past, and the SOP version each person was trained on against the current one: change the current version, and everyone behind shows "Retrain". It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.

Where this stops working

A training log says who should be doing a job. It can't say who did. On a busy Saturday, the packer still on version 3 runs the line, the batch sheet carries initials nobody checks against the log, and when a store complains about underweight bags, finding which batches that person packed means reading every sheet from the month.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack doesn't keep your training log. It keeps the other half: who actually did each job, on which version, and what each person is allowed to do.

Who did each batch, and how. Every movement is a permanent record of who, when and why, and batch record forms carry your own checklist fields with initials and sign-off. Each product's recipe has versions, and every batch records the version it was made to, so a batch made by someone a version behind can be found in minutes.

Roles that match the training. Each person has a role, owner, manager, purchasing, production, warehouse, viewer or your own, limited to the sites they work at, so a new starter's access can match what they've been trained to do.

And the checks, with limits. Batch record fields carry limits, like a fill weight or an oil temperature, so a reading outside them is flagged on the spot, whoever is on the line. A batch can sit on hold until it's checked and released.

People with roles, batch records with sign-off, recipes with versions and holds are on every plan, from $49 a month, with 3 people on Starter and 10 on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

What should an employee training log include?

The date, the person and their role, the topic, the SOP and version if there is one, the trainer, how it was taught, whether someone watched them do the job afterwards, their initials, and when a refresher is due.

Are food businesses required to keep training records?

Businesses under FDA's food manufacturing rule must train everyone who handles food in food hygiene and food safety, including employee health and personal hygiene, and keep records documenting that training. State and local codes, and buyers, may ask for more.

How long should training records be kept?

Under FDA's food manufacturing rule, records it requires are kept for at least 2 years after they were made. You can keep them longer, such as for as long as the person works for you.

How often should food safety training be refreshed?

On a set interval your food safety plan, buyers or inspector expect, such as yearly, and whenever an SOP changes for training tied to it.