Food Business Record Keeping: Examples and the Rules

A good food business record says exactly what happened, when, to which product and lot, and who did it, written at the time and kept where it can be found. For a food facility under FDA's preventive controls rule, that's close to the letter of the rule: records must be originals, true copies or electronic records; contain the actual values and observations; be accurate, indelible and legible; be created at the time of the activity; be detailed enough to show the history of the work; and show the facility, the date and time, the initials of the person, and where appropriate the product and lot code (21 CFR 117.305). They're kept at least two years (21 CFR 117.315). Below are good and bad examples of the records a small maker keeps, the common mistakes, how long to keep them, and how TaroStack keeps them for you.

The short version

• Write the actual value, not "OK": 36°F, pH 3.8, 42 good packs.
• Write it when it happens, not at the end of the day or the week.
• Include the date and time, your initials, the product and the lot code.
• Use something that can't be rubbed out: ink, or a system that records changes.
• Keep records at least two years, findable within a day.
• Electronic records count, and they're easier to search when it matters.
• TaroStack records every movement with who, when and why, and the lots in every batch. More below.

What makes a good record

All from 21 CFR 117.305. These rules apply to food facilities covered by FDA's preventive controls rule; a cottage food business or a retail kitchen answers to its state and county instead, and what those records look like is in cottage food record keeping. They're good practice for anyone, because they're what makes a record useful on the day you need it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Good and bad examples

Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, keeps four kinds of record most days:

The useful versions are longer by a few words, and each one answers the questions someone will ask later: which lot, what value, when, who. The batch record is the one that makes a recall small; how it's laid out is in what is a batch record. Receiving records are in food receiving log template, and complaints in customer complaint log.

Where records go wrong

How long to keep them

For a facility under the preventive controls rule, records are kept at least two years after they're prepared. Records about the adequacy of equipment or processes, such as validation studies, are kept at least two years after their use ends. Records can be stored offsite if they can be produced onsite within 24 hours of an official request, except the food safety plan, which stays onsite; electronic records that can be reached from the site count as onsite (21 CFR 117.315). HACCP and other programs have their own periods; how long HACCP records are kept is in how long should HACCP records be kept.

Where this stops working

Paper records meet the rules when they're kept well, and fail on the day they're needed. The receiving sheet is in one binder, the batch sheets in another, the complaints in an email inbox, and the trace from a complaint to a batch to its ingredient lots to its other customers means laying them all out on a table. Two years of paper is a shelf of binders, and the values written in a hurry at 2:40 pm are the hardest to read.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack keeps the records as the work happens, connected and searchable. It doesn't make anyone compliant or write your food safety plan; it keeps the records those programs ask you to show.

Made at the time, by the person who did it. Every movement, a receipt, a batch, a sale, an adjustment, is a permanent record of who, when and why, made when it's recorded. Corrections are recorded as corrections and can be undone, not erased.

The actual values, with limits. Custom checklist fields on batch records, receipts, lots and counts take numbers, tick boxes, text, choices and initials, with limits, so a cook temperature or a pH is recorded as a value and flagged if it's outside its limit.

And connected by lot. Receiving records the supplier's lot, recording a batch notes which lots were used automatically, and one report walks any lot to every batch and customer. Timed, logged traceability drills give you something to show an inspector or a buyer. Every list exports to CSV.

Batch records, custom checklist fields, lots, recalls and traceability drills are on every plan, from $49 a month. 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 are examples of good record keeping in a food business?

A receiving record with the date, time, supplier lot, quantity, condition and initials; a batch record with the recipe version, every ingredient lot, the actual temperatures and the good units; a temperature log with the actual reading; and a complaint record with the lot and what was done.

What records should a small food business keep?

Receiving, batch or production records, temperature and other checks, cleaning, complaints, recalls and mock recalls, training, and supplier documents such as certificates of analysis. Which ones the law requires depends on what you make and which rules cover you.

How long should food safety records be kept?

For a facility under FDA's preventive controls rule, at least two years after they're prepared. Other programs and state rules can set their own periods.

Do food safety records have to be on paper?

No. FDA's preventive controls rule accepts originals, true copies and electronic records, as long as they're accurate, legible, made at the time and identify who did what.