Write down what went wrong and what you did about it in your diary.

Safe method:Stock controlEffective stock control is an importantpart of managing food safety.What to doGo through your menu andestimate how much of eachingredient you will need.Why?Working through the menuallows you to plan for yourspecific needs.How do you do this?• Review your menu regularly and howit affects your needs for stock.• Discuss your needs with your supplier.Plan ahead to make sure youhave the right amount ofstock and order carefully.Check all stock when it isdelivered to make sure that:• it is within its ‘use by’ date• it has been kept coldenough• it has not gone off• the stock is clean and notdamaged, e.g. throw awayany punctured vacuumpacks, swollen packs orbadly dented cans andcheck that tops are secureon bottles and jars andseals are unbrokenCarry out regular stockchecks and throw away anyfood that has passed its ‘useby’ date.Not having too much stock isbest for food safety – and yourprofits.These checks are all to makesure that food is safe for youto use.Damaged packaging could meanthat food will not be safe touse.Swollen or ‘blown’ packs can bea sign that bacteria have grownin food or drinks.If bottles or jars have beenopened, or if seals have beenbroken, the food or drink mightnot be safe to use.You should never use food thathas passed its ‘use by’ date,because it might not be safeto eat.• Plan the stock you need for each shift.• Make sure staff know the stock requirementsfor each shift.• Use a supplier who understands yourbusiness needs and supplies stock on time.• Do a stock check before placing an order.• Train your staff in what to look forwhen checking deliveries.• Have a written agreement with yoursupplier about your delivery requirements.• Carry out spot checks on thedeliveries yourself.• Use the diary to record any issuesor problems with deliveries.• If you move food from its originalpackaging to another container, makesure you make a note of the name ofthe food, the ingredients and the ‘use by’or ‘best before’ date.• Follow the ‘first in, first out’ system ofstock rotation, so that older stock isused first. This helps to avoid waste.• Train your staff in stock control and makesure they know in what order to use foods.• Check regularly that stock control is beingcarried out effectively.• Record stock checks in the diary.What to do if things go wrong• If you find that you have more food in stock than youneed and you do not think you will use it all beforethe ‘use by’ date, you could freeze some of it to beused in the future.• If you find that food that has passed its ‘use by’ date hasnot been thrown away, throw it away immediately.• If you do not think that a food delivery has been handledsafely, reject the delivery if possible. Do not use the foodand contact your supplier immediately.How to stop this happening again• Review your ordering process.• Review your stock rotation system.• Review your agreement with your supplier.• Train staff again on this safe method.• Improve staff supervision.MAN5/09-06