Food safety
Grocery Date Check and Stock Rotation Checklist (FIFO/FEFO)
- Who checks
- Department manager, department associate or store manager
- When
- Perishables daily in the morning, other categories on a section schedule (e.g. weekly)
- Time
- ~40 min · 27 items
| Location | Date and time | Inspector | Signature |
Out-of-date product on the shelf is a risk to customers' health, a fine during an inspection and a reputational hit no discount can fix. It doesn't happen by chance: new deliveries go in front of older stock, nobody checks the back rows, and markdowns happen after the date has already passed. FEFO rotation (first expired, first out) and a regular scheduled walk remove these causes.
Start with the coolers and deli — that's where shelf lives are shortest — then bread and produce, then grocery sections according to the schedule. Don't check only the front row: pull product from the back. Anything taken off sale goes straight out of the sales floor and is processed the same day.
Perishables in Coolers
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1
No out-of-date product on the dairy shelves Check every yogurt, cottage cheese, milk and cheese item, including the back rows of each shelf.☐ Yes☐ No
-
2
Fresh meat, poultry and fish are within their use-by dates Check the date on every tray pack; anything past its date is pulled immediately.☐ Yes☐ No
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3
In-house deli items and salads are within the date on their label Every tray has a label with prep date, time and use-by; anything unlabeled is pulled from sale until clarified.☐ Yes☐ No
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4
No swollen packs, broken vacuum seals or leaks Bloated yogurt cups and lids, vacuum packs with air inside and leaking trays are pulled from sale.☐ Yes☐ No
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5
Product in display cases is not stacked above the load line Above the load line marked on an open case, product can't hold temperature and spoils faster.☐ Yes☐ No
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6
Perishables display case temperature, °C / °F Measure with a calibrated thermometer: usually 0–5 °C / 32–41 °F (some codes allow up to 6 °C / 43 °F) or within the range on the product label; meat, poultry and fish often need a lower range.
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7
No signs of refreezing in chest freezers No frost or ice inside packs, no dumplings or vegetables frozen into clumps, no misshapen ice cream bars.☐ Yes☐ No
Bread and Produce
-
8
No out-of-date bread or baked goods on the shelf Check dates on packaged bread and the labels on trays of loose bakery items.☐ Yes☐ No
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9
No mold on sliced and bagged bread Inspect packs of sliced bread and flatbread on both sides, especially the ones at the bottom of the stack.☐ Yes☐ No
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10
Rotten and damaged produce has been culled from displays Go through the top layer and look deep into the trays of berries, tomatoes and citrus.☐ Yes☐ No
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11
Herbs and salad leaves are not wilted or slimy Wilted bunches and packs with dark, wet leaves are pulled from sale.☐ Yes☐ No
Grocery, Canned Goods and Non-Food
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12
No out-of-date product in the section scheduled for today's check Grains, pasta, sauces, snacks and drinks checked across the entire section, including bottom shelves and endcaps.☐ Yes☐ No
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13
No swollen lids, rust or seam dents on canned goods Swollen cans are pulled immediately and kept away from saleable stock; cans with a deep dent on the seam are removed from the shelf too.☐ Yes☐ No
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14
No out-of-date product in the baby food section Check every item — formula, purées, cereals, drinks; this section is checked on every walk, not on the general grocery schedule.☐ Yes☐ No
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15
Short-dated items in ambient sections were checked on today's walk Eggs, fresh (unpasteurized) juices, packaged fresh bakery and similar items are on the daily walk and nothing is out of date today.☐ Yes☐ No
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16
No expired items in a sample of cosmetics, household chemicals and diapers 5 items per category: where the pack shows an expiry date or a production date with a period after opening, it hasn't passed and the date is legible.☐ Yes☐ No
FEFO Rotation on Shelf and in the Back Room
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17
The shortest-dated product is at the front of the shelf For 5 items, pull 2 units from the front and from the back of the row and compare dates.☐ Yes☐ No
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18
In the back room, cases with the shortest dates are first in line to go out New deliveries are placed behind or below existing stock, not in front of the older lot.☐ Yes☐ No
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19
Back-room cases have the expiry date written in large letters The date can be seen without opening the case, so staff can pick the right lot.☐ Yes☐ No
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20
Product below the chain's remaining-shelf-life threshold is marked down or pulled The threshold is set by company policy; product that reaches it is marked down or removed from the shelf per procedure.☐ Yes☐ No
Markdowns and Write-Offs
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21
Marked-down product carries the new price and is displayed in a separate area The markdown sticker doesn't cover the date or ingredients; customers can see the item is reduced because of its date.☐ Yes☐ No
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22
The markdown price scans correctly at the register Scan 2–3 marked-down items at a price checker or register: the price matches the sticker.☐ Yes☐ No
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23
Product pulled from sale is stored separately in labeled containers off the sales floor A container labeled "Damaged / Write-off" is in the back room; expired stock is not mixed with saleable stock.☐ Yes☐ No
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24
No product has been relabeled with a new date Deli and pre-packed items have no double layers of labels or stuck-on dates; repacking to extend the date is a serious violation.☐ Yes☐ No
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25
Write-offs are recorded in the inventory system on the day they are pulled The quantity on the write-off document matches what is in the write-off container.☐ Yes☐ No
Walk Summary
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26
Number of units pulled from sale on this walk Record the total for out-of-date and for damaged/spoiled separately.
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27
Items where out-of-date product was found again List the SKUs found out of date more than once this month — ordering or rotation needs to be reviewed for them.
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/grocery-shelf-life-rotation
Common violations
- Only the front row is checked: the expired yogurt sits at the back of the shelf, and the customer reaching to the back for a "fresher" one finds it first.
- New deliveries go in front of existing stock because it's quicker: older product gets pushed to the back and sits there until it expires.
- Deli items are repacked or relabeled with a new date — a direct food poisoning risk and one of the most serious food safety violations.
- Pulled out-of-date product is left in a box on the sales floor "until tonight", and an associate who doesn't know it's a write-off puts it back on the shelf.
- Repeat expiries are never analyzed: the store orders more than it sells for weeks and writes off the same items every week.
Frequently asked questions
FIFO means "first in, first out": whatever arrived first is sold first. FEFO means "first expired, first out": rotation is based on the expiry date. FEFO is more reliable for food, because a later delivery sometimes arrives with a shorter date.
Perishables, deli, bread and baby food — daily. Grocery, drinks and non-food are easiest to check on a schedule, splitting the store into sections so that each gets a full check at least weekly, or at another frequency set by company policy.
In many countries a "use by" date includes the stated day: the product can be sold on that day but not after it ends. Exact rules depend on your country's legislation and the type of date mark, so check local regulations. Many retailers pull or mark down such product earlier — what matters is that the rule is consistent and every employee knows it.
Employee test on this topic
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