Packaging, stock and date marks

Wrapped food is lower risk, but it is not free of risk. Packaging only protects food while it is undamaged. Look at packs when they arrive and whenever you move them.

Watch for torn wrapping, broken seals, badly dented or swollen cans, and signs of pests. Do not re-wrap the food or hide the damage. Set the item aside and tell your supervisor.

Keep food off the floor and store it in its proper place. Follow any storage instructions on the label, such as 'keep refrigerated'. Keep cleaning products and other chemicals away from food. Put new stock behind older stock, so the older food is used first. This is called first in, first out.

In a shop, filling a shelf is a food safety check as well as a stock job. Look at the wrapping and the date on each pack as you put it out. Do not leave a damaged or out-of-date pack on the shelf for someone else to find.

Food labels carry date marks. A use-by date is about safety. A best before date is about quality. It tells you how long the food will stay at its best.

Food must not be sold or served after its use-by date, even if it looks and smells fine. Smell is not a safety test. Food past its best before date may still be safe, but it may not be at its best. Ask your supervisor what to do with it.

Never change a date or remove a label. Labels tell people how to store food and what is in it.