Is it mandatory to keep written records as part of your food safety management system?

Yes, in substance. Under Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004, every food business other than primary producers must put in place and maintain a permanent HACCP-based procedure, and establishing documents and records is the seventh HACCP principle. The obligation is proportionate, so it must be commensurate with the nature and size of your business. The FSA states the law requires you to write down what you do to keep food safe, and that it is an offence not to have food safety procedures in place. A micro-caterer's paperwork is lighter than a manufacturer's, but for almost every business the practical answer is yes.

What is the minimum retention period for traceability records after the sale or delivery of food?

There is no single statutory minimum. Article 18 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 requires traceability records but sets no fixed retention period; they must simply be available to authorities on request. European Commission guidance suggests, as a practical rule, 6 months after the date of manufacture or delivery for highly perishable foods, shelf life plus 6 months for products with a best-before date, and 5 years for products with no durability date. For food of animal origin, Regulation (EU) 931/2011 says records should be available at least until the food can reasonably be assumed to have been consumed.

How long do we keep food safety records?

UK law does not set a fixed number of months. Regulation (EC) 852/2004 requires records to be kept for an appropriate period, commensurate with the size of your business, and the FSA says it is for businesses to decide based on the shelf life of the food. As a working rule, keep monitoring records such as the Safer Food Better Business diary until at least your next local authority inspection, and keep traceability records in line with the guidance periods above.

What food safety records does an EHO want to see?

An Environmental Health Officer will typically ask for your HACCP or food safety management plan, temperature monitoring logs, cleaning records, delivery and traceability records, allergen information, staff training records, and any corrective actions you have taken. Being able to produce these quickly is a major factor in your Food Hygiene Rating, which is scored from 0 to 5.

Do small businesses and SFBB users still need to keep records?

Yes, but proportionately. The Safer Food, Better Business pack is the FSA's record-keeping system for small caterers and retailers, built around a daily diary. The diary is the minimum daily record, but you still need purchase, traceability and allergen records alongside it. The duty scales with the size and risk of your business, not away to zero.

Can I keep food safety records digitally?

Yes. There is no requirement for paper. Digital records are accepted provided they are accurate, available to officers on request, and ideally tamper-evident. A digital system also makes it far easier to prove your due-diligence defence, because every check is timestamped.

UK food safety compliance

Food Safety Record Keeping: What to Keep, Why It Matters, and How Long to Retain Records

Your records are the evidence that keeps your food hygiene rating up and your due-diligence defence intact. Here is exactly what UK law expects you to record, and what the FSA and the regulations actually say about how long to keep it.

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Why your records are your legal defence

When an Environmental Health Officer inspects your business, your records are the proof that your food safety management system is actually working. Missing or incomplete records are one of the fastest ways to lose points on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, where confidence in management is scored from 0 to 5.

Without records you also lose your strongest protection in court: the due-diligence defence under section 21 of the Food Safety Act 1990, which depends on documented evidence that you took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence.

What food safety records you must keep

A food safety management system based on HACCP is built on records. These are the documents an EHO expects to see, and the ones that demonstrate the seventh HACCP principle, establishing documents and records, under Regulation (EC) 852/2004.

Temperature monitoring: fridge, freezer, cooking, cooling and hot-holding checks
Cleaning schedules and completed cleaning records
Opening and closing checks
Deliveries and goods-in checks, including temperature on arrival
Allergen information for every dish and the 14 regulated allergens
Supplier and traceability records, one step back and one step forward
Staff training records and fitness-to-work declarations
Corrective actions taken when something falls outside safe limits
Your HACCP or food safety management plan itself

How long must you keep food safety records?

Here is the part most websites get wrong. UK food law sets no fixed number of months or years for keeping most food safety records. Regulation (EC) 852/2004 requires you to keep documents and records commensurate with the nature and size of your business, and to retain them for an appropriate period. The Food Standards Agency puts it plainly: it is for businesses to decide how long they keep their records, based on the shelf life of the food.

The only concrete numbers come from European Commission guidance on traceability, and even those are framed as what could be kept, not a legal minimum.

Food safety record retention by record type and authority tier
Record type	What the law or guidance says	Legal or guidance	Source
HACCP / food safety management procedure documents	No fixed period. Must be kept up to date at all times.	Legal: Reg (EC) 852/2004, Art. 5(4)(b)	legislation.gov.uk
HACCP records (any other documents and records)	No fixed period. Retain for an appropriate period, commensurate with the nature and size of your business.	Legal: Reg (EC) 852/2004, Art. 5(4)(c) and 5(2)(g)	legislation.gov.uk
Traceability and supplier records (general food law)	No statutory minimum. Records must be available to authorities on demand.	Legal: Reg (EC) 178/2002, Art. 18	legislation.gov.uk
Traceability: European Commission suggested periods	The Commission suggests, as a practical rule that 'could' apply: 5 years for products with no durability date; 6 months after sale or delivery for highly perishable foods (use-by under 3 months or no date); shelf life plus 6 months for products with a best-before date.	Guidance only: EC Article 18 guidance, 2010	food.ec.europa.eu
Food of animal origin traceability	Keep available at least until the food can reasonably be assumed to have been consumed; update daily.	Legal, sector-specific: Reg (EU) 931/2011, Art. 3	legislation.gov.uk
SFBB daily diary (routine monitoring)	Fill in each day. Keep completed pages until your next visit from a local authority food safety officer.	FSA guidance	food.gov.uk
Staff food-hygiene training records	No statutory retention period. The FSA recommends keeping a record so you can show it to officers. The training itself is a legal requirement.	Training: legal. Record: FSA best practice	food.gov.uk
Allergen information	Keep accurate and up to date at all times. No fixed retention period.	Best practice (accuracy is a legal duty)	food.gov.uk

In short, there is no single legal retention figure. The safe approach is to keep each record at least as long as the food it relates to is on sale or could still be eaten, and to follow the European Commission traceability guidance above where it applies. If you want certainty, we will build retention rules into your HACCP system.

Food safety record keeping: your questions answered

How to set up a compliant record-keeping system

1
Map your hazards
Work through your menu and processes to identify the biological, chemical and physical hazards and the critical control points where they must be managed.
2
Choose your record templates
Select the monitoring records you actually need, from temperature logs to cleaning schedules, and keep them simple enough that staff will complete them.
3
Set monitoring frequencies
Decide how often each check happens and what the safe limits are, so a missed or failed check is obvious.
4
Assign responsibility
Make it clear who completes each record and who reviews them, so nothing is left to chance.
5
Review and retain
Review records regularly, act on anything outside safe limits, and retain each record for as long as the related food could still be in use.
6
Digitise where it helps
Move to timestamped digital records where you can, to cut admin and strengthen your due-diligence evidence.

We build all of this for you as part of a site-specific HACCP plan.

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How rebuilt records and a working HACCP system recovered the rating.

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From closure risk to a 5 rating, with documentation at the centre.

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Related guidance

Stop worrying about your paperwork

We will build a record-keeping system that satisfies your EHO and protects your due-diligence defence, then keep it current as your menu changes.

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Food Safety Record Keeping: What to Keep, Why It Matters, and How Long to Retain Records

Why your records are your legal defence

What food safety records you must keep

How long must you keep food safety records?

Food safety record keeping: your questions answered

How to set up a compliant record-keeping system

Map your hazards

Choose your record templates

Set monitoring frequencies

Assign responsibility

Review and retain

Digitise where it helps

Record keeping by sector

Restaurants and hospitality

Small producers and manufacturers

Care homes

Good records turn ratings around

Ealing restaurant: 1 to 5 turnaround

London sushi restaurant recovery

Related guidance

Stop worrying about your paperwork

Sources