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Food safety

Stock control | Stock control measures

Stock control

Stock control is a term used to describe the measures taken to ensure that food is not kept beyond its shelf life. If high risk food is kept too long, even under favourable conditions, harmful bacteria may multiply.

Stored food may become contaminated by food handlers, pests and the catering environment.

Longer shelf life foods, whether dried, canned or frozen, may also deteriorate if kept for too long.

Stock control measures

Incoming food should not be accepted if:

• its packaging is seriously damaged exposing the product to the risk of contamination
• the food is obviously contaminated
• the 'use by' or 'best before' date has expired.

Stored food:

• must not be used if its 'use by' date has expired
• use stock on a first-in-first-out basis
• remove damaged stock
• store dried food in waterproof containers
• don't top up with new stock - ensure that the existing food is used first
• keep food that can cause allergic reaction separate from other foods.

Re-label with appropriate 'use by' date:

• high risk food which has been removed from its original packaging
• high risk foods prepared on the premises and then stored for later use.

You may wish to develop your own stock control policy that is specific to your premises and record any checks made. Here is an example of a stock control policy:

Stock control policy (56kb) PDF

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