What should be on a daily food safety checklist for a cafe?

At a minimum: opening checks that everything is working and stocked, fridge and freezer temperatures, safe cooking/cooling/reheating where you handle hot food, cleaning, and closing checks. This template covers the daily opening, temperature, cleaning and closing checks a small cafe, deli or bakery needs.

Is this food safety checklist suitable for my country's rules?

The checks here are the everyday good-practice checks common to most food-safety schemes, and the temperature limits shown are set for your area. Your local authority's guidance always has the final say — this is a starting point you can adapt, not a substitute for it.

Is the checklist free?

Yes — print it and use it every day at no cost. If paper checklists keep going missing, ProCafe runs the same checks on your team's phones, records who did them and when, and keeps everything ready for an inspection. Free for 14 days, no card required.

How do I prove to an inspector that the checks were done?

With paper you keep the signed sheets on file. ProCafe keeps a time-stamped, tamper-evident history automatically and lets you export it as a PDF or spreadsheet — so when an inspector asks, the proof is a couple of taps away.

Free food safety checklist for cafes, delis & bakeries

A printable daily food-safety checklist covering opening, closing and cleaning checks, plus your fridge and freezer temperatures — with the safe limits already filled in for your area. Print it for the wall, or run the same checks on your team's phones with ProCafe.

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Putting this into practice in Australia

Organise evidence around the activities in your Australian food business. Standard 3.2.2A's evidence tool applies to category one businesses; the relevant work includes receiving, storing, processing, displaying and transporting food, plus cleaning and sanitising. Match the records to your business category and state or territory requirements.

FSANZ: evidence tool and prescribed activities

Create routines for the applicable receiving, storage, processing, display, transport and sanitising work. Capture the food or activity and the observation when the work happens.
Review missing evidence and corrective actions before closing. Keep records accessible for the applicable retention period and any additional state or territory conditions; category one evidence records must be kept for at least three months.

ProCafe · Free template

Daily food safety checklist

A checklist for every shift

Before opening, check equipment, chilled storage, handwashing supplies and the day's food preparation. At closing, complete cleaning, check food is labelled and stored correctly, and hand over unresolved faults or missing checks with a named owner. Adapt the tasks below to your site. This daily sheet is separate from a checklist for opening a new business.

Site: Date: Checked by:

Opening checks

Fridges and freezers running correctly
Probe thermometer working and sanitised
Hand wash basin stocked with soap and paper towels
Allergen information available and up to date
Fridge temperature(≤ 5 °C)

Fridge & freezer temperatures

Fridge temperature(≤ 5 °C)
Freezer temperature(≤ -18 °C)

Cleaning

Area cleaned and sanitised
Product used
Contact time followed

Closing checks

Hot holding switched off and food cooled correctly
Surfaces and equipment cleaned and sanitised
Waste removed and bins cleaned
Fridges and freezers running correctly

Tick each check once done, and record temperatures where shown. Keep the completed sheet on file.

Questions

Common questions

What should be on a daily food safety checklist for a cafe?: At a minimum: opening checks that everything is working and stocked, fridge and freezer temperatures, safe cooking/cooling/reheating where you handle hot food, cleaning, and closing checks. This template covers the daily opening, temperature, cleaning and closing checks a small cafe, deli or bakery needs.
Is this food safety checklist suitable for my country's rules?: The checks here are the everyday good-practice checks common to most food-safety schemes, and the temperature limits shown are set for your area. Your local authority's guidance always has the final say — this is a starting point you can adapt, not a substitute for it.
Is the checklist free?: Yes — print it and use it every day at no cost. If paper checklists keep going missing, ProCafe runs the same checks on your team's phones, records who did them and when, and keeps everything ready for an inspection. Free for 14 days, no card required.
How do I prove to an inspector that the checks were done?: With paper you keep the signed sheets on file. ProCafe keeps a time-stamped, tamper-evident history automatically and lets you export it as a PDF or spreadsheet — so when an inspector asks, the proof is a couple of taps away.

Keep going

Free food safety checklist for cafes, delis & bakeries

Putting this into practice in Australia

Daily food safety checklist

A checklist for every shift

Opening checks

Fridge & freezer temperatures

Cleaning

Closing checks

Common questions

Digital opening and closing checks

Food safety software for cafes

Hot food temperature log

Probe thermometer calibration log

Food delivery record sheet

Cafe shift handover template

Fridge & freezer temperature log

Cleaning schedule template

Standard 3.2.2A checklist