Food safety
Food Labeling and Date Marking Checklist
- Who checks
- Sous chef or head chef
- When
- Daily, before prep starts
- Time
- ~20 min · 22 items
| Location | Date and time | Inspector | Signature |
Expired food in a kitchen is often not a forgotten box in the storeroom but your own prep: sauces, sliced items, stocks, marinades. If a container has no clear label with a use-by time, a cook at peak hour will grab whatever looks fine. This checklist confirms that every prepped item is labeled, its shelf life is worked out, and nothing expired makes it to the pass.
Start with the shelf-life chart, then work through the station fridges, freezers, dry storage and the service line in turn. Discard anything unlabeled or past its date immediately and record it on the waste log. Repeated findings at the same station call for retraining, not just a penalty.
Labeling Rules
-
1
An approved shelf-life chart for prepped items is posted in each station The chart lists item, storage conditions and shelf life in hours or days. Times come from your recipe specs and are no longer than your local food code allows.☐ Yes☐ No
-
2
Labels show the item name and the date and time it was prepared Check 5 random labels: the name is clear without opening the container, and the time is given, not just the date.☐ Yes☐ No
-
3
Labels show the use-by date and time The date and time by which the item must be used are written out; the cook doesn't have to calculate it in their head.☐ Yes☐ No
-
4
Labels show who prepared the item Name or employee number — so you know whom to ask if there is a quality question.☐ Yes☐ No
Station Fridges
-
5
Every prepped item in the fridges is labeled Open every station fridge: not a single hotel pan, container or bag without a label.☐ Yes☐ No
-
6
No expired prep in the fridges Compare use-by times on labels with the current date and time. Remove anything found immediately and record it on the waste log.☐ Yes☐ No
-
7
Labels match what is in the container Open 3–5 containers at random: the contents match the label; old labels are removed before containers are reused.☐ Yes☐ No
-
8
New batches are not topped up onto old ones Yesterday's sauce is not mixed with today's — otherwise the shelf life of the mix can't be determined. Each batch goes into its own clean container.☐ Yes☐ No
-
9
Prep is arranged first-expired, first-out (FEFO) Containers with the nearest use-by time are at the front or on top; fresh batches are not placed in front of older ones.☐ Yes☐ No
-
10
Opened manufacturer packs are labeled with the opening date Opened cartons of cream, jars of sauce, vacuum packs: the opening date and new use-by per the manufacturer's instructions ("once opened, use within … days") are shown.☐ Yes☐ No
-
11
Thawing products are labeled with the time thawing started Shelf life is counted from the start of thawing; there are no signs of refreezing.☐ Yes☐ No
Freezers and Vacuum Packs
-
12
Items frozen in-house are labeled with the freeze date Name and date on the bag or container; a shapeless unlabeled bag of "some kind of meat" is a "no".☐ Yes☐ No
-
13
Freezer storage time does not exceed the set limit Freeze dates are within the limit on the chart; anything with a faded or unreadable label is discarded.☐ Yes☐ No
-
14
Vacuum-packed prep is labeled and kept under refrigeration only Vacuum packing does not extend shelf life indefinitely: the bag shows the pack date and the use-by from the chart; vacuum bags are never left at room temperature.☐ Yes☐ No
Dry Storage
-
15
Decanted dry goods are labeled with their best-before date Bins of flour, grains and sugar show the product name and the date from the original pack, or a cut-out of the manufacturer's label.☐ Yes☐ No
-
16
No expired products in dry storage Check spices, bottled sauces, canned goods and baking ingredients on the top and back shelves.☐ Yes☐ No
-
17
Products nearing their date are set aside to be used first A separate shelf or a "use first" sticker; the chef is aware of these items.☐ Yes☐ No
Service Line
-
18
Containers on the service line are labeled Sauces, toppings and sliced items on the line carry a label with a use-by time, usually in hours ("until 6:00 pm").☐ Yes☐ No
-
19
Items held without temperature control are used within the set time limit If your procedures allow an item on the line without refrigeration or hot holding (time as a control), the container shows the time it was set out; anything left after the time limit is discarded (typically 2–4 hours depending on the product and local rules).☐ Yes☐ No
-
20
Staff food is not stored in production fridges Staff lunch boxes, drinks and medicines go in a separate fridge, not next to food for guests.☐ Yes☐ No
Waste Log
-
21
Discarded items are recorded on the waste log with a reason The waste log shows item, quantity and reason: expired, unlabeled, spoiled.☐ Yes☐ No
-
22
Number of prepped items discarded as expired today Record the number of units. Rising waste on one item is a sign it is being over-prepped.
This template is a starting point. Check the limits and wording against your local regulations, your company standards and the equipment manufacturers' instructions.
jeCheck · https://jecheck.io/en/templates/food-labeling-shelf-life
Common violations
- The label shows only the prep date. At peak hour no cook is going to work out the shelf life — they'll grab whichever container looks fine.
- Fresh sauce is poured on top of yesterday's. The date on paper gets refreshed, while the bottom of the container holds product that is several days old.
- Thawed meat that wasn't used goes back into the freezer. Refreezing lowers quality, and bacteria that multiplied during thawing don't go anywhere.
- Dates are written in marker straight on the lid and never wiped off. A week later the lid has three dates and nobody knows which one is current.
Frequently asked questions
Take shelf lives from your recipe specs; where your local food code sets a limit for a product type, your internal time cannot be longer. Rule of thumb: the moister the product and the more it is handled after cooking (salads, sliced items, egg-based sauces), the shorter its shelf life.
Day-color stickers make old products easy to spot, but they don't replace a use-by time. A practical option is a colored label that shows the name, prep time, use-by and who made it.
If you can't establish exactly when it was made, throw it out. Don't keep it based on a cook's memory — these are exactly the items that most often turn out to be expired.
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Move the checklist into jeCheck: photos on every item, tasks for each issue with an owner and a deadline, and location comparison by results.