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Safer Food, Better Business

Restaurant opening and closing checks in the UK

Opening and closing checks are the Safer Food, Better Business diary entries that confirm the kitchen is safe to open and left safe at close. Do them during the shift, with a name on the line — not from memory at 11pm. FSA’s electronic diary option still requires the same checks as the paper pack.

Last reviewed: . Reviewed by Nitin Patel. Drafts are prepared with AI assistance and checked by him before publication.

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What are opening and closing checks?

Opening and closing checks are the daily SFBB diary pages that show the kitchen was fit to trade at the start of the shift and left safe at the end. They are not a separate hygiene system. They are the same pack your team already owes, with a timestamp instead of a clipboard.

Most gaps start at close. Opening checks, temps, and deliveries get written up from memory. That is the record that fails under questions.

What opening checks usually cover

The paper SFBB diary asks you to confirm the premises are ready before service. In a restaurant or café that typically means:

  • Staff fit to work (no diarrhoea or vomiting)
  • Fridges and freezers running, with a probe available
  • No signs of pests
  • Cleaning from the previous close is done
  • Hot-holding equipment ready if you use it

Your pack may add site-specific items. The duty is to follow the methods you wrote, not a generic app checklist.

What closing checks usually cover

  • Food covered and put away
  • Hot-holding off
  • Waste removed and surfaces cleaned
  • Premises left secure

Closing checks filled in the next morning are the same habit as the 11pm diary. Temperature records sit alongside these pages, not instead of them.

Why the catch-up at close fails

Paper is legal. It collapses when the pack is filled in late, left in the office, or cannot be read. An officer who asks “who did opening checks on Thursday?” needs a name and a time, not a tick added after service.

Read will an EHO accept digital food safety records for the hand-over on the day.

How System Hub runs the same checks

Food Safety is the same SFBB opening and closing tasks on a phone during the shift. Alerts when a check is skipped. Manager sign-off. Searchable history. 14-day trial, no card, then £5/week per location incl VAT via Stripe.

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When should opening checks be done?

Before service, by the person who can still fix a failure. A walk-in at 11°C found at 09:30 can be dealt with. The same reading written at 23:30 cannot. Closing checks are the same idea at the other end: what was left, what was still hot, what was not cleaned. Both are in the SFBB pack. Neither is optional because the restaurant was busy.

The list is the pack’s list: fridges on and at temperature, staff fitness, pests, cleaning of hand-contact points, the probe. If you add a check the pack does not have, you now owe that check every day. If you skip one the pack does have, the gap is visible.

A shared opening across two kitchens is two lists. The site that was closed that day should say closed, not copy yesterday’s ticks.

Opening checks. A closed day stays closed. It is not yesterday's ticks.
Opening checks saved during the shift, not copied from yesterday.
  • Before the first food leaves the kitchen, not after the first seating.
  • Out-of-range temperatures get an action on the same row.
  • The person who did the check is named.
  • Closed days are marked closed. They are not backfilled.

GOV.UK: SFBB pack, electronic or printed. FSA: chilling.

What do you record on a day the kitchen is closed?

A closed day is written as closed. It is not a copy of yesterday’s ticks. Two kitchens are two lists, even when one manager opens both. If the pack names a check, you owe it. If you add a check the pack does not name, you owe that one as well, every day you are open. Find the failure while someone can still move the food. 09:30 is a different record from 23:30.

FAQ

If the kitchen was closed

What are restaurant opening checks in the UK?
Opening checks are the SFBB diary entries that confirm the kitchen is safe to open: fridges running, staff fit to work, no signs of pests, probe available, and cleaning from the previous close. They belong at the start of the shift, not written up from memory at 11pm.
What should closing checks cover?
Closing checks typically cover food put away, hot-holding off, waste removed, surfaces cleaned, and the premises left secure. Same pack logic as paper. The test is a named, dated record — not a blank that was filled later.
Can opening checks be digital?
Yes. FSA SFBB guidance for England and Wales lists an electronic diary as an official option. Checks must still be complete, dated, and accessible. See digital SFBB records. We do not claim a regulator endorsement.
How much is System Hub Food Safety?
14-day trial, no card. Then £5/week per location incl VAT via Stripe. Cancel anytime. Works in the browser. No app to install.