How to Demonstrate Food Safety Compliance Using Pilla

Why preparation matters

Food safety inspections are unannounced. The inspector could arrive when you are there, or when a junior team member is running the shift. Either way, someone needs to demonstrate that your business maintains proper food safety standards.

The best way to pass an inspection is to actually be compliant every day. But compliance without evidence is difficult to prove. Inspectors want to see documentation: temperature records, cleaning schedules, corrective actions, training logs. They want confidence that your systems work consistently, not just on the day they visit.

Pilla gives you that evidence. Every completed work activity is timestamped and stored. Every issue is logged with its resolution. Every pattern of compliance (or non-compliance) is visible at a glance.

This guide shows you how to present that evidence effectively.

1. Start with your food safety management system

Before diving into daily records, inspectors typically want to see your food safety management system (FSMS). This is your documented set of policies and procedures that explain why and how you manage food safety.

You have options:

Safer Food Better Business (SFBB): If you are a UK business with straightforward food operations, you can use the government's SFBB pack. It is available as a paper file or PDF, and inspectors are familiar with it.

Custom FSMS: For more complex operations or if you want a more thorough system, you can create your own FSMS based on HACCP principles. Pilla provides a complete food safety management system that you can adopt.

Video training library: Pilla's video library can supplement your FSMS by providing visual training on procedures. This shows inspectors that staff receive consistent training.

Have your FSMS accessible, whether digital or physical. Know where it is and be ready to show it when asked.

2. Navigate to the Work tab

The Work tab is your central hub for demonstrating daily compliance. To access it:

1. Open Pilla on your phone, tablet, or computer
2. Tap the Work tab (the checkbox icon in the navigation)
3. You will see the Work data table showing all your scheduled and completed work

The table displays key information at a glance:

By default, you see work for the current date range. Use the date picker to view historical records.

3. Understand status colours

Pilla uses colour coding to show compliance status at a glance. Understanding these colours helps you explain your records to an inspector.

Green border - Completed on time

Work activities with a green border were finished within the scheduled time window. This is what you want to show an inspector: consistent, timely completion of food safety tasks.

Orange border - Completed late

An orange border means the work was completed, but after the scheduled end time. The work still got done, but not within the target timeframe.

Inspectors understand that hospitality is unpredictable. The occasional orange is acceptable. A pattern of orange may suggest your time windows are unrealistic or that staff need better support to complete tasks on schedule.

Red border - Overdue or has issue

Red indicates a problem. Either:

• The work is past its deadline and still not complete (overdue)
• Someone has flagged an issue with the work

Red items need attention. During an inspection, you should be able to explain any red items and what actions were taken.

Grey text - Scheduled future work

Work shown in grey text is scheduled for the future. It has not yet become available for staff to complete. This shows inspectors your forward planning.

Status badges

In addition to colours, work activities display status badges:

4. Filter work by type

When an inspector asks to see specific records, use filters to find them quickly.

Filter by Tag

Tags categorise your work activities. Common tags include:

• Food Safety Checks
• Temperature Monitoring
• Cleaning
• Training
• Maintenance

To filter:

1. Tap the Tags filter button
2. Select the relevant tag(s)
3. The table updates to show only matching work

For example, if an inspector asks "Can I see your temperature records?", filter by your temperature monitoring tag to show all fridge, freezer, cooking, and hot holding checks.

Filter by Team

If you have multiple sites or teams, use the Teams filter to show records for a specific location. This is useful when an inspector is visiting one site and wants to see only that site's records.

Combine filters

You can use Tags and Teams together. For example, show "Food Safety Checks" for "Kitchen Team" during "January 2026" to give the inspector exactly what they need.

5. View work details

Clicking any work row opens the work detail sheet. This is where you show inspectors the full audit trail for a specific task.

The detail sheet displays:

Header information:

• Work name
• Scheduled date and time
• Team assignment
• Current status

Work elements: Each element within the work activity shows:

• What was checked or completed
• The response or value recorded
• The exact time it was completed
• Who completed it

Photo evidence: If the work includes photo requirements, the images are displayed here. Photos provide visual proof of compliance, like a clean fridge or properly labelled containers.

Checklist timestamps: For checklist-type elements, each item shows when it was ticked off. This proves that staff worked through the checklist methodically, not just ticked everything at once.

Notes and comments: Any notes added during completion appear here. Comments might explain unusual readings or document actions taken.

This level of detail demonstrates to inspectors that your checks are genuine, not just box-ticking exercises.

6. Show historical compliance

An inspector may want to see more than just today's records. They want evidence of consistent compliance over time.

Scroll through dates

Use the date range selector to view previous days, weeks, or months. A consistent pattern of green (completed on time) across many days demonstrates reliable compliance.

View work schedule history

For a summary view of historical performance:

1. Tap the Menu button (three horizontal lines)
2. Select View work schedule history

This shows performance metrics over time:

• On-time %: Percentage of work completed within the scheduled window
• Late %: Percentage completed, but late
• Missed %: Percentage not completed at all

These percentages give inspectors quantified evidence of your compliance track record. A high on-time percentage demonstrates systematic food safety management.

7. Demonstrate issue management

Things go wrong in hospitality. Inspectors know this. What they want to see is how you handle problems when they occur.

View Live Issues

To show your current issue status:

1. Tap the Menu button
2. Select View Live Issues

The Live Issues drawer shows any work activities that currently have flagged issues. These are problems identified by staff that need management attention.

If you have no live issues, that is good news, but you should also be prepared to show how you have handled issues in the past.

Show issue history

The Live Issues view can include resolved issues. Toggle Include Corrected to see work activities that previously had issues but have now been resolved.

This is powerful evidence for inspectors. You can show:

1. A problem was identified
2. It was escalated appropriately
3. Action was taken to resolve it
4. The resolution was documented

Issue detail trail

Click on any work activity with an issue to see the full paper trail:

• What the issue was
• Who reported it
• When it was reported
• What corrective action was taken
• When it was resolved
• Who resolved it

This demonstrates that your business has systematic processes for identifying, escalating, and resolving food safety issues.

8. Export compliance reports

Sometimes an inspector wants to take records away for review, or you want to provide documentation they can keep.

Export by Tag

To export records for a specific category:

1. Tap the Menu button
2. Select Export work by tag
3. Choose the tag (e.g., "Food Safety Checks")
4. Select the date range
5. The report is emailed to you

This generates a comprehensive export of all work activities matching that tag within the selected period.

Export by Team

To export records for a specific site:

1. Tap the Menu button
2. Select Export work by team
3. Choose the team
4. Select the date range
5. The report is emailed to you

What exports include

Exported reports contain:

• All work activities matching your criteria
• Completion status and timestamps
• Element-level details
• Notes and comments
• Issue flags and resolutions

You can provide this export to an inspector as documentation of your compliance records for any period they request.

9. Activity log audit trail

For the most detailed audit trail, use the activity log.

To access it:

1. Open the bottom panel on the Work screen
2. View the activity log

The activity log shows a timestamped record of all actions:

• When work was created
• When work was started
• When elements were completed
• When issues were reported
• When issues were resolved
• User names for each action

This log provides irrefutable evidence of exactly when things happened and who did them. If an inspector questions whether a record is genuine, the activity log shows the complete history.

10. Training and maintenance records

Beyond daily food safety checks, inspectors want to see training and maintenance documentation.

Training records

If you log training as work activities:

1. Filter by your training tag
2. Show the inspector training activities and their completion
3. Demonstrate the recurring training schedule feature, which automatically schedules refresher training

Training records might include:

• Food hygiene course completions
• Allergen awareness training
• In-house procedure training
• New starter inductions

Maintenance records

Similarly, maintenance should be logged:

1. Filter by your maintenance tag
2. Show equipment servicing, pest control visits, and building maintenance
3. Use recurring work to demonstrate planned preventive maintenance

Evidence of systematic maintenance shows inspectors that you manage your premises proactively, not just reactively when things break.

Summary

When an inspector arrives, you need to demonstrate compliance quickly and confidently. Here is what to remember:

Key features to show:

• Work tab: Your central record of all food safety activities
• Status colours: Green = good, Orange = late but done, Red = needs attention
• Filters: Quickly find specific records by tag or team
• Work details: Full audit trail with timestamps and evidence
• Live Issues: Proof that you identify and resolve problems
• Exports: Reports the inspector can take away
• Activity log: Complete timestamped history of all actions

Prepare your team:

• Train all managers and supervisors to navigate these features
• Make sure someone on every shift knows how to show compliance records
• Practice walking through the app as if an inspector were asking questions

Build the evidence every day:

• Complete work activities on time (aim for green)
• Add notes and photos where relevant
• Report issues when they occur
• Resolve issues promptly

The best time to prepare for an inspection is every day. Consistent use of Pilla creates the compliance trail that inspectors want to see. When they arrive unannounced, you will be ready.