Using Pilla for Daily Food Safety Checks

This guide explains what checks you need, how to complete them properly, and how Pilla helps you implement them with scheduled tasks, automatic timestamps, and completion analytics.

Why paper checks fail

Paper checklists have been the standard for decades, but they have fundamental problems that undermine food safety:

Retrospective completion — It's easy to fill in a week's worth of temperature logs at the end of a shift. Everyone knows it happens. When checks are completed retrospectively, they don't catch problems in real time — they just create false records.

Lost records — Paper gets lost, damaged, wet, or thrown away. When an inspector asks for last month's temperature logs and you can't find them, you have no evidence of compliance — even if the checks were done.

Inconsistency — Different staff interpret paper checklists differently. One person's "clean" isn't another's. Without structured inputs, you get inconsistent data that's hard to analyse.

No accountability — You can't tell who actually did a check, or when, or whether the reading was real. Paper sheets can be filled in by anyone at any time.

Digital records with timestamps address these problems. When a check is completed in Pilla, you know who did it and exactly when. Records can't be backdated. Nothing gets lost. And structured inputs ensure consistency across all staff.

The role of checks in food safety

Daily checks sit between your food safety management system and your audits in a continuous cycle:

1. Your FSMS defines what hazards exist and how to control them
2. Daily checks execute those controls and create evidence
3. Audits verify the checks are happening properly
4. Gaps feed back into improving your FSMS

Without checks, your FSMS is just documentation — policies that look good on paper but don't affect what happens in the kitchen. Without a system behind them, checks are random activities that might miss critical control points. The FSMS guide explains how to document your system; this guide explains how to execute it.

Temperature checks

Temperature is your most critical control. The "danger zone" — between 8°C and 63°C — is where bacteria multiply rapidly, potentially doubling every 20 minutes. Most of your daily checks involve temperature because it's the primary way you prevent bacterial growth during storage, cooking, cooling, and service.

Equipment verification

Your temperature checks are only as good as your equipment. An inaccurate probe thermometer gives false readings that undermine all your monitoring — you might think food is safe when it's not, or discard safe food unnecessarily.

Receiving controls

Once you accept a delivery, you accept responsibility for that food. Checking deliveries at the point of receipt prevents unsafe food from entering your operation in the first place. It's much easier to reject a problem delivery than to deal with contaminated stock in your kitchen.

Implementing checks in Pilla

Pilla turns your checks into scheduled work items that staff complete on their phones. This creates structured, timestamped records without the problems of paper systems.

Scheduled tasks — Checks appear when they're due. Opening checks at opening time, closing checks at closing time, delivery checks when deliveries arrive. Staff don't need to remember what to do or when — the system prompts them.

Structured inputs — Number fields for temperature readings ensure consistent data. Checklists for procedures can't be partially completed. Photo uploads provide visual evidence. Pass/fail options make results clear.

Automatic timestamps — Every check records exactly when it was completed and by whom. You can see if checks were done on time, late, or missed entirely. This accountability changes behaviour — staff are more likely to do checks properly when they know the timing is recorded.

Issue reporting — When staff find a problem during a check, they can flag it for manager attention. The fridge is too warm, the delivery arrived damaged, the dishwasher isn't reaching temperature. Issues get escalated rather than ignored.

Completion analytics — Over time, you build a picture of your compliance patterns. Which checks get missed most often? Which teams are consistent? Which times of day see problems? This data helps you improve your systems.

When checks fail

A check that reveals a problem is doing its job. The important thing is what happens next.

Take immediate action — If a fridge is too warm, move food to a working fridge. If cooked food hasn't reached temperature, continue cooking. If a delivery is unacceptable, reject it. Don't wait.

Record what happened — Document the problem and what you did about it. This shows due diligence — you found a problem and dealt with it appropriately.

Investigate the cause — A one-off problem might be a fluke. Repeated problems indicate a systemic issue. Is the fridge failing? Is the cooking method inadequate? Is the supplier consistently delivering warm food?

Prevent recurrence — Fix the underlying cause so the problem doesn't keep happening. Repair equipment, change suppliers, retrain staff, adjust procedures.

The goal isn't perfect checks with no failures — that would suggest you're not checking properly or not being honest. The goal is catching problems early and dealing with them effectively.

Common mistakes

Checking at the wrong time — Opening checks done mid-morning, closing checks done before actually closing. Checks need to happen at the right point to catch real problems.

Using unreliable equipment — Built-in fridge displays, uncalibrated probes, infrared thermometers for core temperatures. Use the right tool for the job and verify it's accurate.

Not recording failures — Only recording good results makes your records look suspicious. Inspectors know that real operations have occasional problems — what they want to see is that you detected and addressed them.

Treating checks as paperwork — Going through the motions without actually looking. A temperature check means nothing if you don't act when the reading is wrong.

Inconsistent timing — Checks done sporadically rather than at consistent intervals. Temperature monitoring works because it catches problems before they become serious — that requires regular checking, not occasional checking.

Next: Carrying out your own audits

Your daily checks create the raw data. Your weekly audits verify that the checks are happening properly and that your systems are working as intended.

Audits look at your check records and ask: Are checks being completed consistently? Are temperatures staying within acceptable ranges? Are corrective actions being taken when problems are found? Are there patterns that suggest underlying issues?

When an inspector arrives, they're looking at the same things. Your check records become evidence of due diligence — proof that you actively monitor food safety, not just document procedures. The Audits guide explains how to prepare for inspections and use your records effectively.