SOPs for purchasing, receiving, storage, facility and equipment

SOP: purchasing raw materials

1. 1
   Approve suppliers: valid FSSAI licence or registration, a site visit or audit, and a good record. Keep an approved supplier list.
2. 2
   Write specifications for each item: variety, grade, size, packaging, temperature on delivery and shelf life (e.g. 'toor dal, unpolished, free from insects and stones, in sealed 25 kg bags').
3. 3
   Order planned quantities from menus and stock levels, to avoid overstocking.
4. 4
   Agree delivery conditions: times, a clean vehicle, and refrigerated transport for chilled and frozen food.
5. 5
   Review suppliers regularly using rejections and complaints, and act on poor performance.

SOP: receiving raw materials

Temperatures here are the limits commonly used and taught; FSSAI's Schedule 4 also asks for high-risk chilled food at 5 °C or below and frozen food at −18 °C or below on receipt. Always follow your unit's validated limits.

1. 1
   Prepare: clean receiving area, a clean and calibrated probe thermometer, scale, order copy and specifications ready.
2. 2
   Inspect the vehicle: clean, free of pests, refrigerated where needed, raw food kept apart from ready-to-eat food.
3. 3
   Check temperatures: chilled food 5 °C or below; frozen food −18 °C or below and hard frozen; hot food 63 °C or above.
4. 4
   Check quality and packaging: label, FSSAI number, Use by date, batch; packs intact, no swelling, leaks, pests or bad smell.
5. 5
   Check quantity against the order and the invoice.
6. 6
   Accept or reject on the spot; record the reason for any rejection and inform the supplier.
7. 7
   Store at once: frozen first, then chilled, then dry goods.
8. 8
   Record in the receiving log: date, supplier, item, batch, temperature, accepted or rejected, signature.

What to accept and what to reject

SOP: storage

• Store each item at once in the right place: dry store, refrigerator or freezer.
• FIFO (first in, first out): use older stock first. FEFO (first expired, first out): use first the item with the earliest expiry date, even if it arrived later.
• Label and date every opened pack and every prepared item (name, date, use-by).
• Dry store: cool, dry, well ventilated, pest-proof; food on racks or pallets off the floor (about 15 cm is commonly used) and away from walls; chemicals stored separately.
• Refrigerator 5 °C or below; freezer −18 °C or below; check and record temperatures at set times each shift.
• In the refrigerator, keep cooked and ready-to-eat food on upper shelves and raw meat and fish at the bottom, covered.
• Do not overload; leave space for cold air to circulate; move opened canned food into covered containers.
• Remove expired or damaged stock and record it.

SOP: facility and equipment

• Premises: smooth, washable floors, walls and ceilings; mesh on windows; self-closing doors; good lighting and ventilation; a one-way flow from raw to cooked.
• Hand-wash stations with soap, running water and single-use towels near work areas.
• Water: potable, from a safe source, tested at regular intervals.
• Equipment: food-grade, easy to clean and placed so the area around it can be cleaned.
• Preventive maintenance schedule for refrigerators, freezers, ovens, grinders and slicers; repairs recorded.
• Calibrate thermometers regularly, for example by the ice-point check (0 °C in crushed ice and water).
• Check refrigerator door seals, defrost freezers and seal gaps that could let pests in.
• Records: maintenance log, calibration log and breakdown log.