# Food Safety Training Evidence You Can Show A food safety training checklist records, for each employee, the food safety topics they were taught, the check a manager watched and any card your area requires. It is for owners and kitchen managers at restaurants, cafes and catering companies who want records they can show an inspector. Updated October 27, 2026 ## A food safety training checklist, in short A food safety training checklist is a per-employee record of the food safety topics someone was taught, the task a manager watched them do on a real shift and any food handler card required where you operate. Kitchen managers at restaurants, cafes and catering companies keep it. Your health department decides which rules and cards apply, and the checklist does not stand in for a required course. Elvina fills a sample row for one station with local rules as placeholders, then drafts a short lesson and a station job aid per topic from your approved SOPs, available now. It organizes training and does not replace required courses or certification. ## What happens on the free demo - Book 30 minutes. Pick a time with Elvina's team. The demo is free and runs on Zoom. - Show the team your goal. Bring one role or one procedure. The team shows how Elvina would handle it, using sample materials. - Agree on the next step. You leave with a plan for the first step and its price. Nothing reaches your team until you approve it. ## When to use it 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. ## How to fill it out 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. Food safety training checklist | Employee and role | Topic | Source and version | Check observed | Date observed | Observed by | Card and expiry | Next review | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Ana, prep cook at the cold station | Handwashing before plating ready-to-eat food | Kitchen SOP v4, hand sink section | Washed at the hand sink before plating; used tongs for garnish | Sept 14 | Kitchen manager | County card on file, expires next spring | After the fall menu change | ## How to read the result 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. ## Where a person decides 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. ## Sources 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). ## Who this is not for, and when another tool fits ### This is not the right fit if - You need a food handler card or a manager certification course. - You want someone to tell you which food code your area has adopted. - You expect the checklist alone to satisfy an inspector. ### Another kind of tool may fit better - A food safety course your state or county accepts, for cards and manager certification. - Your local health department, for which rules and which code edition apply to you. ## Questions **Q:** What should a food safety training checklist include? One row per employee and topic, with the rule or SOP behind it, the check a manager watched, when and by whom, any required card and the next review. Pull topics from your health department's rules and your own SOPs. **Q:** Does a training checklist satisfy the health department? Not by itself. Your state or local health department sets the rules, may use the FDA Food Code as its model and decides what training and certification you need. The checklist shows what you trained and checked. Ask the department, or a lawyer, when a rule is unclear. **Q:** Is a food handler card the same as kitchen training? No. Where a card is required, it comes from a program your state or county accepts. Training in your own kitchen covers what no card can: your stations, menu, allergens and SOPs. Track both on the checklist. **Q:** Does the Food Code call for a certified food protection manager? The 2026 model code asks that the person in charge be a certified food protection manager, except in operations the regulator judges to be of minimal risk. Whether that applies to you depends on the rules your health department has adopted. ## Two things you can check on this site - See a sample on the demo. [Book a demo with my team](https://calendly.com/o-dutchak-smartexpert/30min?utm_source=elvina-site&utm_medium=proof) - Every lesson, plan and quiz stays a draft until you approve it. [Check the approval step in the chat](/academy/templates/food-safety-checklist#talk-to-elvina) Checked October 27, 2026. No launch date is committed for planned features.