Food Safety Training Evidence You Can Show

Start a row on a new hire's first shift and keep the checklist while they handle food. Add rows when a menu change brings a new allergen or step, when a rule changes and after an inspection finding. The FDA calls its Food Code a model for local, state, tribal and territorial regulators, who decide what to adopt into their own rules. The FDA released the 2026 edition on September 17, 2026. In that edition, section 2-103.11 asks the person in charge to make sure employees are trained in food safety, including allergy awareness, for their duties (checked October 2, 2026). Your health department decides which edition and rules apply to you.

Start from the blank template on this page, a CSV file with the same columns as the table below, and keep one row per employee and topic. The filled row is from a fictional catering company with one commissary kitchen. Take each topic from your health department's rules and your kitchen SOPs, not from memory.

• Employee and role: who was trained and which station they work.
• Topic, source and version: one food safety task and the rule or SOP behind it.
• Check observed: what the manager saw the person do on a real shift.
• Date observed and observed by: when it was seen, and by whom.
• Card and expiration date: only where your state or county requires a card.
• Next review: when someone will watch the task again.

Download the blank template: CSV · Markdown (.md) · Word (.docx)

Read the checklist by topic first. Empty observation cells mean people were told, but nobody has watched them do the task yet. When several cooks needed a second try on the same topic, check the lesson or the SOP before you blame the cooks. Then read by person: an expired card or a missed review goes on this week's list.

The kitchen manager decides who is ready to work a station and signs each observed check. This checklist helps you organize training and records. It does not replace a required food safety course, a food handler card, manager certification or legal advice, and Elvina does not issue certificates. Once the checklist and your SOPs are in Company Knowledge, Creation Studio can draft a short lesson and a station job aid for each topic, available now. The manager approves both before anyone sees them on the Learning Platform.

Public sources, checked on the date shown.

• FDA released the 2026 Food Code on September 17, 2026, as a model for local, state, tribal and territorial food regulators. Source: https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-releases-2026-food-code (checked 2026-10-02).
• Food Code 2026: section 2-103.11 has the person in charge ensure food safety training; section 2-102.12 calls for a certified food protection manager. Source: https://www.fda.gov/media/194741/download (checked 2026-10-02).