HACCP record keeping: what to keep, how long to keep it and how to store it

Keep every monitoring log, corrective-action note, calibration check and verification record that your plan or your health department requires. The retention period depends on which rules you fall under. Federal processing rules say one year for refrigerated products and two years for frozen or shelf-stable ones [1][2]. A restaurant under the Food Code has no single national number, so a safe default is one year, longer if your local code says so. Whatever the period, keep records on site long enough for an inspector to read recent weeks, and be able to produce the rest.

This guide lists the records, retention by rule, how to fill in a log so it stands up, how to fix mistakes, and where to store them. Free finished log sheets are on the logs page.

Need the sheets themselves? Print the finished log for your menu, free. No card.

The records a restaurant keeps

HACCP names four groups of records: the plan itself, monitoring records, corrective-action records and verification records. For a restaurant they look like this:

Group	What it holds	Examples
The plan	Hazard analysis, control points, limits, procedures, who is responsible	The written plan or food safety program, with dates of each review
Monitoring	What was measured, when, by whom	Temperature logs, cooling, reheating, receiving, sanitizer
Corrective action	What you did when a limit was missed	A note on the log: food moved, discarded, unit repaired, who, when
Verification	Proof that the system works	Calibration log, manager sign-off, internal checks, training sign-in sheets, pest service reports

For specialized processes add the process records: batch logs, pH or water activity results, supplier specs, shellstock tags and freezing proof. See vacuum sealing, raw oysters and beef jerky.

How long to keep HACCP records

Rule system	Retention
USDA FSIS meat and poultry plants, 9 CFR 417.5 [1]	At least 1 year for slaughter and refrigerated products; at least 2 years for frozen, preserved or shelf-stable products
FDA seafood processors, 21 CFR 123.9 [2]	At least 1 year for refrigerated products, at least 2 years for frozen or preserved ones
FDA preventive controls (food manufacturers), 21 CFR 117.305 [3]	At least 2 years from the date the record was made
Restaurant under the Food Code [4]	No single federal number for routine logs. Your state or county sets it; some name a period for specialized-process records.
Shellstock tags for raw oysters, Food Code [4]	90 calendar days from the date the container is emptied

A practical default: keep a restaurant's logs for one year and specialized-process records for two. Paper takes little room once it is in a folder or a box by month. If your health department states a longer time, use that. Insurers and lawyers often ask for longer too, so ask yours.

The retention clock starts on the date of the record, not when you file it. Write the date on every sheet.

How to fill in a log so it stands up

Write it at the time. Fill the reading in when you take it. Logs filled in at closing, in one handwriting and one pen, look invented.
Record the number, not a tick. "OK" or a tick shows nothing. "38°F" can be checked.
Print the limit on the sheet. A reader should see the number and the reading side by side.
Initial every row. One person owns each reading.
Write the action next to any miss. The reading, what you did, the follow-up reading.
Use ink, full dates, no blanks. A blank is a missed check. If a unit was off or the place was closed, write "closed".
Sign-off. The manager looks at each day's sheet and initials it, daily or weekly.

How to correct a mistake

Never erase, scribble out or use correction fluid. A cleaned-up record looks like falsification, even when it was an honest slip. Instead:

Draw one line through the wrong entry so it can still be read.
Write the right entry beside it.
Add your initials and the date of the correction, and, if useful, a short reason ("misread").

On a spreadsheet or app, use one that keeps an edit history, or add a note column instead of overwriting.

Paper or digital

Either is acceptable to most health departments if the records are complete, readable, dated and available when asked. Paper is cheap and works when the Wi-Fi does not. Digital helps with search, reminders and multiple sites, and stores itself. See restaurant temperature log app or paper log for the trade-off and HACCP software for restaurants for what it costs.

If you go digital, check three things: can you print or show any day in the last year, does it record who entered each reading and when, and can you export your data if you change vendor?

Where to store them

This week and last: a clipboard or binder at each station, so the inspector can see them without asking.
This month: a binder in the office, sheets filed by log type and date.
Older: a labelled box or scanned PDFs by month. Name each file with the log type and month, and back the scans up.
Dry and clean: kitchen sheets get grease and water on them. Put them in clear sleeves, or scan them weekly.

What an inspector will ask to see

It varies by place, but the common requests are: today's and recent temperature logs, a thermometer in use, calibration or sanitizer checks, the manager's certificate, and any records for a specialized process. Inspectors read the pattern more than any single row. A log that is on time, in different hands and has corrective actions next to the bad days is a system working. A perfect-looking log that shows 38°F at every cooler every hour for a month looks less real. For the whole walk, see the restaurant food safety inspection checklist.

When you do not need a plan, do you still need records?

Yes, where your code requires them. Many codes ask a manager to be able to show that temperatures, cooling and sanitizing are checked, plan or no plan. Whether a written plan is required is a separate question: see do restaurants need a HACCP plan.

A monthly records routine that takes 15 minutes

Records go wrong at the end of the month, when sheets are loose, missing or lost. A short routine fixes it:

Week end: the manager reads each station's sheets, looks for blanks and out-of-range readings with no action, and initials the bottom of each.
Month end: gather the sheets by log type, put the month on the front, and file them. Scan them if you keep digital copies.
Quarter end: pull three random days from the last three months and check that each log, action and sign-off is there. This is a verification record in itself: write the date and what you found.
Year end: discard only what has passed its retention period, and note what was thrown away and when.

Pair this with a yearly review of the plan. If a limit, a piece of equipment or the menu changed, the log sheets change too, and the old version is kept for the same period as the records made on it.

Records for a food truck, a caterer or more than one site

Records should stay with the place the work happens. A truck keeps a service-day sheet in the truck and files it at the commissary at the end of the week. A caterer fills one sheet per event and files it by date and client. A group with several kitchens uses the same sheet layout in each and sends a monthly folder to one person, so a missing site shows up fast. See food truck HACCP plan and HACCP plan for catering.

Questions

How long should HACCP records be kept?

At least one year for refrigerated products and two for frozen or shelf-stable ones under federal processing rules. For a restaurant, follow your local code and keep one year as a default.

Do temperature logs have to be kept on site?

Recent logs, yes, ready to show. Older ones may be stored elsewhere if you can produce them promptly. Ask your health department.

Can HACCP records be electronic?

Yes in most places, if they are complete, attributable, dated and retrievable.

What if a day is missing from the log?

Do not backfill. Write a dated note that the check was missed, why, and what you did instead. Restart the log.

Who signs HACCP records?

The person who took the reading initials each row, and a manager reviews and signs the sheet. Name those two roles in your plan.

What do I do with records when a restaurant closes or is sold?

Keep them for the retention period. Hand over the plan and recent logs with the business if the buyer wants them, and keep a copy.

Start the record today: find your restaurant and print the finished log, free.