Checklist template

Safe product handling and food safety at retail for consumer goods

A ready-to-use checklist with 118 items in 6 sections, covering Temperature, Rotation, Damaged packaging, Recalls, Allergen segregation, Hygiene. Use it as-is in Bindy, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 118 Items
  • 100 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 130 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Temperature 20 items

  1. Company food products carried by this store Choice
    • Shelf-stable only
    • Shelf-stable and chilled
    • Shelf-stable and frozen
    • Shelf-stable, chilled and frozen
  2. Every company product labeled "keep refrigerated" is in a refrigerated case, with none on a dry shelf or floor display Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Temperature of a chilled company product, probe held between two packs (°F or °C) Number
  4. The chilled reading is 41°F (5°C) or below Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Temperature of a frozen company product, probe held between two packs (°F or °C) Number
  6. The frozen reading is 0°F (-18°C) or below Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Frozen company product is hard to the touch Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Frozen packs show no sign of thawing and refreezing: no ice crystals inside the bag, no clumped or misshapen product Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Chilled packs are flat, with no swollen lids or bloated pouches Yes / No 1 pt
  10. In open cases, company product sits below the load line Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Company product does not cover the air return grille of the case Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The back-room cooler holding company back stock reads 41°F (5°C) or below Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The back-room freezer holding company back stock reads 0°F (-18°C) or below Yes / No 1 pt
  14. The receiver states that chilled and frozen deliveries go into refrigeration within 30 minutes of arrival Yes / No 1 pt
  15. No pallet or cart of chilled or frozen company product is waiting in the back room or in an aisle Yes / No 1 pt
  16. The store measures the temperature of chilled deliveries at receiving and writes it down Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Promotional coolers, bunkers or ice tubs holding chilled company product keep it at 41°F (5°C) or below Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Chocolate and other heat-sensitive company product is shelved away from hot cases, sunlit windows and warm air from compressors Yes / No 1 pt
  19. The auditor's probe was wiped with a sanitizing wipe between readings Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Temperature control of company food products Rating
    • In range at every point measured 5 pts
    • In range, with handling lapses seen 3 pts
    • Product found out of range 1 pt

2. Rotation 17 items

  1. No company product past a use-by or expiry date is on sale Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Infant formula and baby food of the company are inside their dates on every facing Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Short-life chilled company items were each checked for date during the visit Yes / No 1 pt
  4. A stocker asked during the visit could explain the difference between a use-by date and a best-before date Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Chilled company product found past its use-by date today was removed for disposal, not marked down Yes / No 1 pt
  6. On the 5 items sampled, overstock above the shelf carries a date no later than the product on the shelf below it Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Company product on secondary displays carries dates no older than the same item on its home shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Reduced-price short-dated company product is in the store's clearance location and still inside its date Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Price stickers and markdown labels do not cover the date code Yes / No 1 pt
  10. A stocker asked during the visit could read the company's date code on a pack Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Out-of-date product removed from the shelf goes to a marked hold area, not back to the back-room stock Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Opened shipping cases in the back room are closed or covered between fills Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Units returned by shoppers are checked for date and seal before they go back on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Units of company product past their date found on sale Number
  15. Units of company product within 7 days of their date found on the shelf Number
  16. Earliest date found on company product on sale Date
  17. Rotation of company food products Rating
    • Oldest first everywhere, nothing out of date 5 pts
    • Rotation lapses, nothing out of date 3 pts
    • Out-of-date product on sale 1 pt

3. Damaged packaging 19 items

  1. No can of company product on the shelf is dented on a seam or on the rim Yes / No 1 pt
  2. No can is bulging or leaking Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Jar lids have the safety button down and the tamper band unbroken Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Bottle caps have their seal ring attached Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Pouches and bags are free of tears, pinholes and tape repairs Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Vacuum-packed product is tight to the product, with no loose or air-filled packs Yes / No 1 pt
  7. No carton shows its inner bag through a box-cutter cut Yes / No 1 pt
  8. No pack has been reclosed with tape or glue by the store Yes / No 1 pt
  9. No frozen pack is torn with product exposed Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Cases in the back room are free of stains and wet patches from leaking product Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No gnaw marks, droppings or insect webbing were found on or around company product on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  12. No gnaw marks, droppings or insect webbing were found on or around company product in the back room Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Spilled dry product (flour, sugar, cereal, pet food) has been cleaned from the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  14. After a glass breakage, open or unsealed product next to the broken jar was discarded, per the stocker asked Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Damaged food packs are held apart from saleable stock in a container marked "not for sale" Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Damaged food packs are discounted for sale only when the inner sealed package is intact Yes / No 1 pt
  17. A stocker asked during the visit could describe which damage must be pulled from sale Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Units with compromised packaging removed from sale during the visit Number
  19. Packaging integrity of company product on sale Rating
    • No compromised packs found 5 pts
    • A few packs pulled during the visit 3 pts
    • Compromised packs widespread 1 pt

4. Recalls 21 items

  1. The store has a named person who receives recall and withdrawal notices Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The store could show the last recall or withdrawal notice it received for a company product, or its record that none applied Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The auditor carries the current list of open recalls and withdrawals for company products Yes / No 1 pt
  4. No unit of a recalled lot was found on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  5. No unit of a recalled lot was found on displays or clearance racks Yes / No 1 pt
  6. No unit of a recalled lot was found in the back-room stock Yes / No 1 pt
  7. No unit of a recalled lot was found in the online order staging area Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Recalled product pulled by the store is held in a separate location marked "do not sell" Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The quantity pulled was recorded by lot code Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The register blocks the sale of the recalled item where the retailer's system allows it Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Recalled product is kept until the company's instructions arrive, not put in the trash or in a reclaim tote Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The store returned the recall response within the time stated on the notice Yes / No 1 pt
  13. A shopper notice is posted at the shelf or the service desk where the retailer or local regulation requires one Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Service desk staff could say what to do when a shopper brings back a recalled product Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Recalled units returned by shoppers are kept with the held product, not sent back to the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  16. The person in charge of recalls could find the lot code on a company pack Yes / No 1 pt
  17. The store's recall log shows the date each notice was received and the date the product was pulled Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Shopper complaints of illness or of a foreign object in a company product are passed to the company with the lot code Yes / No 1 pt
  19. Units of recalled product found on sale during the visit Number
  20. Date of the last recall or withdrawal notice for a company product Date
  21. Recall readiness of the store Rating
    • Notices acted on and recorded 5 pts
    • Acted on, records incomplete 3 pts
    • Recalled product on sale or no process 1 pt

5. Allergen segregation 19 items

  1. Company products containing a major allergen are shelved in their planogram slots Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Powdery or leaking allergen products (flour, milk powder, nut butters, loose nuts) are not shelved above unwrapped or bulk food Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Residue from a spilled allergen product has been cleaned off the shelf and off neighboring packs Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Packs soiled by a spill of an allergen product have been pulled from sale Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Each shelf tag checked matches the product standing in the slot Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Look-alike variants with different allergens (plain and peanut, dairy and non-dairy) are separated by a divider Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Gluten-free and other "free-from" company products are in their own block or section Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Old-recipe and new-recipe packs with different allergen statements are not mixed in the same facing Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Where the company issued an allergen correction sticker, every unit on sale carries it Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Units sold singly from a broken multipack each carry an ingredient list Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Bundles or reduced-price bags made up by the store leave the original ingredient label readable Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Display shippers hold only the product printed on the shipper Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Shelf signs claiming "gluten-free" or "nut-free" stand only over products that carry that claim on the pack Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Damaged units of allergen products in the hold area are bagged Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The stocker asked changes gloves or washes hands after cleaning up a spilled allergen product Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Online order pickers do not substitute a variant with different allergens without the shopper's approval, per the staff asked Yes / No 1 pt
  17. A stocker asked during the visit could show where the allergen statement is on a company pack Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Facings where the product did not match the shelf tag Number
  19. Allergen control around company products Rating
    • Variants separated and correctly tagged 5 pts
    • Minor mix-ups corrected during the visit 3 pts
    • Mixed variants or allergen residue on packs 1 pt

6. Hygiene 22 items

  1. Shelves holding company food are free of dust and sticky residue Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The floor under the bottom shelf is free of debris and spilled product Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Refrigerated case shelves are free of pooled milk, juice or other spilled liquid Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Freezer cases are free of spilled product frozen to the floor of the case Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Company food on the sales floor is at least 6 in (15 cm) off the floor, on a shelf, pallet or display base Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Company food in the back room is at least 6 in (15 cm) off the floor Yes / No 1 pt
  7. In the back room, cleaners and pesticides are not stored above or beside food Yes / No 1 pt
  8. On stocking carts, household chemicals are not loaded above food Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Stocking carts used for food are clean Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The store's pest control report for the last service is available Yes / No 1 pt
  11. The last pest control report shows no open finding in the aisles carrying company product Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Pest traps and bait stations are not placed on shelves with food Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The back-room hand sink has soap and paper towels Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Crates, trays or dollies the company uses for delivery are clean when they enter the store Yes / No 1 pt
  15. No employee food or drink is kept on shelves or in cases holding company product Yes / No 1 pt
  16. The receiving door is closed when no delivery is in progress Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Trash bins and the damaged-goods bin stand away from food back stock Yes / No 1 pt
  18. The back room around company food is free of standing water Yes / No 1 pt
  19. The merchandiser wiped the shelf before restocking it Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Name of the store manager or person in charge Short text
  21. Overall handling of company food products in this store Rating
    • Safe handling throughout 5 pts
    • Lapses corrected during the visit 3 pts
    • Product safety at risk, follow-up required 1 pt
  22. Findings and corrective actions agreed with the store Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the Bindy template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In Bindy you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

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