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Food Safety Records for UK Mobile Caterers

UK mobile caterers need a food-safety management system that reflects how they actually operate. This guide explains the records commonly used to demonstrate control, including temperatures, cleaning, deliveries, allergens and corrective actions.

The records a mobile caterer should keep

Small food businesses in the UK are generally expected to follow a documented food-safety management system based on HACCP principles — most mobile caterers use the FSA's Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) pack. In practice that means keeping:

• Temperature records — fridge, freezer, hot-holding, plus probe checks on cooking, cooling and reheating.
• Cleaning records — your cleaning schedule with sign-offs.
• Opening and closing checks — the daily diary confirming your safe methods were followed.
• Delivery records — supplier, date and condition/temperature of high-risk deliveries.
• Cooking and cooling records — evidence food reached safe temperatures.
• Allergen information — an accurate matrix of the 14 allergens for every dish.
• Corrective actions — what you did when something went wrong (e.g. a fridge running warm).
• Training records — proof staff understand safe food handling.

VanGuard combines daily checks, temperature records and compliance documents in one account, so you can build an organised record trail instead of relying on paper folders.

Digital records can be easier to keep legible, time-stamped and available across devices. A useful system should also make it clear who completed a check, retain corrective actions and keep supporting documents easy to retrieve.

Digital records and cloud storage

How long should you keep them?

A common, sensible approach is to keep daily records for at least three months, and longer where practical. Your local authority may advise a specific period, so check with them. Digital records make this effortless — nothing to store in a damp van or lose between events.

Why records matter more than the food itself

An EHO can't watch you cook every day, so your records are how you demonstrate control over time. Good records directly feed the "confidence in management" score that shapes your food hygiene rating. Paper works, but it gets wet, lost or forgotten — which is exactly why many mobile caterers move to a phone-based log.

Last updated 30 August 2026. This guide is general information for UK mobile caterers, not legal advice — always check the specific requirements of your local authority.