Waste Record

The Waste Record is one of those documents that is often missed from food safety management systems. When it is included in a FSMS, it is often not filled in routinely. This may be because businesses often see it as a business aid, rather than something to help manage food safety. 

A  waste record can help highlight stock ordering issues, or persistent cooking errors, which in turn can reduce waste. But importantly, it also demonstrates that businesses are discarding food when it is not safe to consume. All businesses have waste to some degree. A FSMS without a waste record could give the impression that food is not being discarded when it should be.

Of course, the absence of a waste record does not prove any wrongdoing, but it may encourage an EHO to delve a little deeper!