"If it is not written down, it did not happen." It is a phrase every Environmental Health Officer in Ireland uses, and they mean it. A perfect kitchen with no paper trail will fail an FSAI inspection just as surely as a sloppy one. This article spells out exactly which records to keep, how often to fill them, and how long to retain them.
The eight records every Irish food business needs
- Hazard analysis and HACCP plan - the master document.
- Daily monitoring log - fridges, hot-hold, cooking, cooling.
- Probe calibration log - weekly minimum.
- Cleaning schedule with sign-off.
- Pest control reports - contractor + internal sightings.
- Allergen matrix and supplier specifications.
- Training records - including HACCP certificates.
- Traceability + recall log.
Daily monitoring log - the workhorse
One A4 sheet per day. Rows for each fridge, each cooking CCP, each hot-hold zone. Columns for time, temperature, initials. Shift-leader signs at the bottom. Print 50 sheets at a time. Keep on a clipboard - not in a drawer.
Calibration log
For every probe and every fridge thermometer: weekly check against ice and boiling water. Acceptable tolerance +/- 1°C. Replace probes that drift further. Keep the log in the same folder as monitoring sheets.
Cleaning sign-off
The schedule itself is one document; the sign-off is the proof it happened. Daily, weekly and deep-clean rows. Initial after each task. The contractor's deep-clean report goes into the same folder.
Pest reports
File every contractor report, plus your internal sightings sheet. If a kitchen porter reports droppings and acts on it, that internal record carries weight on inspection.
Allergen records
The matrix itself, supplier spec sheets, change log when the menu updates, and front-of-house briefing notes. Keep all four in one folder.
Training records
Every food handler should have a personal record showing: induction date, current HACCP certificate, allergen training, refresher dates. The fastest way to build this is a HACCP online course with downloadable per-employee certificates that you file on hire and renew before expiry.
Traceability log
Goods-in record on delivery; internal batch coding on production; outgoing record for B2B sales; recall log for FSAI alerts. Together they answer the regulator's "one step back, one step forward" question.
How long to keep records
| Record | Retention |
|---|---|
| HACCP plan | Indefinitely; review and re-sign annually |
| Daily monitoring | 12 months minimum |
| Calibration | 12 months |
| Cleaning | 12 months |
| Pest reports | 3 years |
| Allergen matrix versions | 3 years |
| Training records | Duration of employment + 3 years |
| Traceability | Shelf life of product + minimum 12 months |
Paper or digital?
Both are legal. Paper is bullet-proof on inspection; digital is searchable. The pragmatic standard in Irish kitchens is paper at the point of capture, scanned weekly to a cloud folder, and printed annually for the audit binder.
The fastest way to clean up your records this week
- Buy a single A4 binder with 8 dividers, one per record above.
- Print 50 daily monitoring sheets and start them tomorrow.
- Calibrate every probe today and start the log.
- Sign every food handler up to a fresh HACCP course.
- Update the allergen matrix.
Most Irish food businesses get from chaos to compliant in a single weekend with this list.
