6 ways to automate food shop date code checks

#1 - The quick sweep

Who it's for: Independent food shop owners who do the date code sweep themselves. No second person, no audit trail beyond a daily note.

What it is: A food shop date code check is a sweep of every chilled and ambient section, pulling anything past its use-by date, rotating short-dated stock to the front, and reducing anything close to its best-before. It ends with a count of what was removed and a sign-off.

In practice: The owner of a small food shop works the shelves section by section on their phone, ticking off each part of the sweep, logging how many items they pulled, and initialling the bottom. The count on its own tells them whether today was a normal day or a sign that ordering needs adjusting.

Why it works: A sweep done in the same order every time (chilled, then ambient, then the fridge and freezer for anything unlabelled) means nothing gets skipped because the shop's busy. Logging a count, not just "done", turns the sweep into a number you can actually track over time.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)

#2 - With written guidance

Who it's for: Food shops where the sweep is delegated to casual or rotating staff who work without the owner present.

What it is: The quick sweep with two guidance notes on the screen. One explains the difference between use-by and best-before dates. The other clarifies what counts as removed, so even a single item gets logged. A new starter reads the method as they work, not in an induction session weeks ago.

In practice: A new part-time worker isn't sure whether a yoghurt one day past its best-before needs pulling. The guidance on screen explains that best-before is about quality, not safety, so it can still be sold if it looks and smells right, just reduced to move it. A use-by date is a hard stop, no exceptions.

What it adds to the quick sweep:

1. A new starter runs the sweep correctly without the owner there to check every call
2. The difference between use-by and best-before is on screen, not assumed knowledge
3. Every item pulled gets logged, even a single one, not just the obvious cases
4. The owner answers fewer "is this one OK to sell?" questions per shift

Why it works: The guidance sits with the check, read at the moment it matters, not in a forgotten training session.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (how to read use-by vs best-before dates; what counts as removed)
• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)

#3 - With a signature

Who it's for: Food shop groups and EHO-scrutinised stores that need a name against each sweep, not just initials.

What it is: The quick sweep with a signature in place of the plain initials line. A small chain running several sites needs every store checked to the same standard, and a formal sign-off is what regulators and head office expect.

In practice: Every day, whoever does the sweep signs off after logging the count. That signature, timestamped and tied to the count, is what a regional manager reviews when comparing wastage across a group of shops.

What it adds to the quick sweep:

1. A signature closes the loop, stronger than a line of initials
2. A manager can compare wastage counts across sites without visiting any of them
3. The record checklist, count and signature is timestamped together
4. An audit trail that regulators can review

Why it works: A signature is a deliberate act, not a habit. Paired with a logged count, it's evidence a group can stand behind and actually learn from.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 signature (sign-off)

#4 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Food shops that want a visual record of what was pulled, not just a count.

What it is: The quick sweep plus a photo of the out-of-date stock removed, taken before it goes in the bin. The count says how many items; the photo shows exactly what they were.

In practice: A food shop that wants a stronger wastage record photographs all stock pulled during the sweep before binning it. If a supplier disputes a wastage claim, or the owner wants to see patterns in what's going off early, the photo alongside the count tells a much clearer story than a number alone.

What it adds to the quick sweep:

1. A photo of the out-of-date stock removed, captured at the time
2. Proof of exactly what was pulled, not just how many items
3. A visual record kept alongside the count, useful for spotting wastage patterns

Why it works: A count tells you how much was wasted. A photo shows you what, which is what actually helps you fix an ordering problem or challenge a supplier.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 photo of the out-of-date stock removed
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)

#5 - With Poppi checking the photo

Who it's for: Food shop groups where photos get filed unseen, or multi-site operators where head office can't review every site's photos each morning.

What it is: A photo-checked sweep is the quick sweep plus a photo of the out-of-date stock that Poppi (AI) reviews the moment it's saved. Poppi answers one question about that photo, set by you: does the photo clearly show the out-of-date stock that was removed? A single focused photo is something an AI can actually judge, where a vague shot of the whole shelf is not. If the answer is no, Poppi posts what it spotted to the team chat, so the problem gets sorted before the shop opens.

In practice: A three-site food group completes its morning sweeps. One site photographs the removed stock. Poppi reads the photo: clear, products identifiable, nothing missing. Verdict yes, and nothing changes. At another site on a rushed Friday the photo is blurred and you can't see what was actually pulled. Poppi answers no and posts the reason to the team chat ("The photo doesn't clearly show what was removed"). The worker retakes the photo while still on site.

What it adds to the quick sweep:

1. A photo of the removed stock that gets checked the moment it's saved, not just stored
2. A team chat message with Poppi's reason the moment a photo fails the check
3. Head office stops being the only one who ever looks at photos

Why it works: The check happens in the moments between the photo being taken and the shop opening. That's the only moment the problem is still cheap to fix. A manager reviewing photos later can only record that a sweep was poor; Poppi catching it at opening gets it redone on the spot.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)
• 1 photo of the out-of-date stock removed
• 1 Poppi decision (judges the photo against your question)
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the photo fails the check)

#6 - With a team alert if the sweep isn't logged by opening

Who it's for: Food shops that must open by a set time and can't start service until the sweep is done. Single shops with a hard opening deadline, small chains where late sweeps delay the whole day, and group franchises where all sites must start together.

What it is: An opening-time alert is the quick sweep plus a Poppi (AI) action set to the workflow's start time. If the date code checks aren't completed by the time the shop is due to open, Poppi posts a message in the Pilla team chat so the outstanding steps get done before service starts. It watches the deadline, so it catches the sweep that quietly got abandoned half-done, not just the one that never started.

In practice: A small food chain with five locations all opens at 8am. On a busy Friday one shop is running behind and hasn't logged the count and sign-off by 8:00. The team chat gets a message, so the manager on duty catches the incomplete sweep that morning rather than starting service with unverified stock. The shop finishes by 8:15 and opens.

What it adds to the quick sweep:

1. A message in the team chat if the sweep isn't finished by opening time
2. A catch for the sweep that got abandoned mid-way, not just the one that was skipped
3. A record of when the sweep should have been done, next to when it was
4. The manager finds out immediately, not from late-opening complaints

Why it works: The alert is tied to the opening deadline, so an unfinished sweep raises its own hand. Nobody has to notice it's missing; the deadline does.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (5 date code checks)
• 1 number input (items removed past use-by)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)
• 1 Poppi action (posts to the team chat if the sweep isn't finished by opening time)

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the quick sweep plus one addition, so pick the additions your shop actually needs.

Do other people run the sweep?

If you clean yourself and know the method, the plain list is enough: #1. The moment anyone else does it, that standard has to live on the screen instead: #2.

Does the sweep need a name against it?

If knowing it was done is enough, skip this one. If you want who signed it off on the record, #3 adds a signature.

Do you need photo proof?

A count tells you how much was wasted. A photo shows you what. If a count is enough, skip this one. If you want to see wastage patterns or prove what was removed, #4 adds a photo of the stock pulled.

Does anyone actually look at the photos?

If a manager genuinely reviews every photo, #4's record is enough. If photos get taken and filed unseen, #5 has Poppi (AI) check each one as it's saved, and tell the team chat when something's wrong.

Does the sweep have to be finished by a set opening time?

The first five versions are about how the sweep is done or checked. This one is about whether it actually gets finished by deadline. If your shop has to open by a set time and a busy morning sometimes leaves the last steps unfinished, #6 posts a message to the team chat if the sweep isn't signed off in time.

Need more than one addition? Open the version with the addition that matters most in the playground and add the others as steps. That's how the product works anyway: every option here is one step added to the same list.

Related workflows

• Food shop opening checklist - the checks that start the day, often alongside this sweep
• Food shop closing checklist - the checks that end the day
• Stock rotation - the first-in-first-out discipline behind moving short-dated stock forward
• Date labelling - how dates get applied to stock in the first place
• Daily food shop cleaning - the cleaning routine that runs alongside this sweep
• Approved suppliers - the supplier record a wastage pattern might feed back into

Conclusion

A food shop date code check is a sweep of every section, pulling out-of-date stock, rotating what's short-dated, and logging what was removed. Every version above is the same quick sweep plus one addition: guidance, a signature, a photo, an AI check on the photo, or a deadline alert. Pick the ones your shop needs and combine them in the playground.

→ Build your own food shop date code check on Pilla.