Receiving Practices

Every Food Safety Plan begins at the receiving door — the point where food first enters your operation.
Safe food handling starts with proper receiving, inspection, and storage practices that protect ingredients from contamination and temperature abuse.

In this section, you’ll learn how to:

• Verify supplier compliance and product quality.
• Check and record delivery temperatures (°C / °F).
• Identify signs of spoilage or damaged packaging.
• Store foods safely to prevent cross-contamination.

Use the downloadable logs and charts in the Materials section to record:

• Delivery temperatures (°C / °F)
• Product condition and packaging integrity
• Supplier information and verification status

Why It Matters

Receiving and storage are the first control points in your Food Safety System.
If unsafe or temperature-abused food enters your kitchen, it puts your customers — and your business — at risk.
Proper receiving and storage ensure that only safe, high-quality ingredients move forward in production.

Define and label your storage zones clearly:

• Separate dry, refrigerated, and frozen goods.
• Keep food at least 15 cm / 6 inches off the floor.
• Use FIFO (First In, First Out) rotation to prevent waste.
• Verify cooler and freezer temperatures daily.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Receive and inspect deliveries following safety and temperature standards.
2. Verify supplier compliance using the provided forms.
3. Properly store dry, refrigerated, frozen, and perishable foods.
4. Apply FIFO rotation and safe storage temperatures (°C / °F).

Next Steps

Before starting, download the tools in the Materials Tab:

• Receiving Log
• Supplier Verification Checklist
• Storage Temperature Chart (°C / °F)

You’ll use these to verify each delivery and confirm safe storage conditions in your kitchen.