• Home
• Food and Drink Dispensing and Vending Hazard Checklist

Food and Drink Dispensing and Vending Hazard Checklist

Does your business sell any kind of food and drink products? It’s vital you have strong health and safety practices in place whether you run a café, restaurant, or takeaway – as well as shops, community events, or food truck. There are various hazards when providing food and drink to customers, staff, and others.

Use the below food safety inspection checklist to tick off food and drink dispensing and vending hazards. This food safety checklist can help inform risk assessments to identify hazards and form an effective action plan to minimise risks. It helps you meet your legal health and safety obligations.

Copy and adapt the food safety checklist template to meet your needs. Our health and safety experts put it together and you can use it for free to ensure all hazards around dispensing food and drink are identified and addressed. Protect your staff, customers, and business with this professional food inspection checklist.

Food safety audit checklist

Food safety is important for vendors and businesses that sell any type and amount of edible and drinkable items. Considerations vary depending on whether you prepare food (such as in a restaurant or takeaway) or simply sell food and drink products (in a shop). You should therefore adapt the following food checklist to meet your needs.

This food safety audit checklist covers food storage, equipment, electrical risks, fire hazards, and more. It has been designed by health and safety professionals and split into sections based on specific risks. If you serve food then you should also use our kitchen and food preparation hazard checklist.

Tick off everything you can from the below and use it to inform your risk assessments. If you want to create unlimited risk assessments for safe food practices you can try our health and safety software too – start your free 15-day trial online. Otherwise, consider all the following sections of the food safety audit checklist and where they apply in your organisation.

Slips, trips, and falls

Are there any obstructions or poor surfaces that could cause a slip, trip, or fall from:

• Stored materials, food boxes, storage bins, and pallets?
• Moveable electrical equipment?
• Trailing leads supplying kitchen implements, kettles, and microwaves?
• Loose mats or worn mats or carpet?
• Wet floors?
• Greasy floors?
• Slippery floor surfaces (polished or smooth surfaces)?
• Uneven floors?
• Access routes blocked by general debris and waste bins?
• Open access panels in the floor?
• Cleaners’ equipment such as vacuum cleaners and floor polishers?

Falling object hazards

Are there any objects that could fall on people such as:

• Foodstuffs and kitchen implements on shelves?
• Unstable freestanding stacks of goods or materials?
• Pots and pans?
• Loose electrical or mechanical equipment (lighting, pipework, and ventilation equipment)?
• Loose ceiling tiles?

Electrical hazards

Is there any risk of persons receiving an electrical shock from:

• Loose or broken sockets, switches, light fittings, conduits, and trunking?
• Worn, frayed, or split cables or conduits?
• Missing lids on trunking and control panels?
• Trailing leads?
• Overloaded extension leads or multi socket adaptors?
• Exposed cables into plugs, kettles, mixers, and microwaves?
• Exposed live parts of electrical switchgear, controls, motors, and pumps?
• Is any item of portable electrical equipment overdue for a portable appliance test (PAT)?
• Is any item of electrical equipment poorly or dangerously positioned?

Substance-related hazards

Are there any substances used that could cause harm from contact or inhalation, such as:

• Cleaning or degreasing chemicals?
• Are the procedures for cleaning up spills effective?
• Is the disposal of waste products from spills effective?
• Is there asbestos in fire retardant panelling, ceiling tiles, or oven linings?
• Are there any new substances being used since the last review?
• Has any staff member complained of any persistent or increasing allergic reactions, such as running nose or eyes, coughing, sneezing, or itching skin?

Work equipment hazards

Is work equipment installed and used in a safe manner to minimise danger to others, such as:

• Can exposed hot surfaces burn skin if contact is made?
• Has any new machinery been introduced since the last review?
• Do staff need extra training in the use of hot items (like ovens and hot plates)?
• Do measures to protect others from burns or scalds from self-service need to be improved?

Fire hazards

Are flammable materials stored or used in a manner that could cause a fire, such as:

• Any flammable substances on or near sources of heat or direct sunlight?
• Any potential for a flammable substance to be spilled onto sources of heat or electrical equipment?
• Flammable waste materials left in waste bins overnight?
• Ovens covered by towels or clothing?
• Heaters in ovens and hotplates left on unattended or overnight?
• Do fire extinguishing methods need improving (extra fire blankets or extinguishers)?

Use a free fire hazard checklist

Ventilation hazards

Are there any hazards associated with ventilation, such as:

• Insufficient ventilation – natural and forced?
• Contamination of air conditioning filters by dust or bacteria?

Manual handling and workstation hazards

Do working positions pose a hazard that could cause muscular strains, such as:

• Poor lifting positions?
• Heavy or large and awkward objects?
• Bad posture over kitchen equipment?
• Repetitive twisting or turning?
• Does any equipment show signs of damage or imminent collapse (like benches and shelving)?

Food hygiene hazards

Do food hygiene provisions require improving to reduce the risk of infection or contamination, such as:

• Hot water temperature requires raising to remove legionella risk (60°C)
• Improved hand washing and drying facilities?
• Do rubber gloves need to be issued to reduce contamination?
• Does the provision of barrier creams and hand cleaners need to be improved?
• Do fridges and freezers need more regular monitoring of storage temperatures?
• Do staff need extra training in food and/or personal hygiene?
• Do drinks vending machines require more frequent cleaning?
• Do drinks vending machines overflow draining require more frequent emptying?

Accidents and first aid

• Does accident treatment require improving?
• Is there a requirement for one or an additional trained first aider?
• Do those trained as first aiders require refresher training? (required every three years)
• Do accident records need reviewing?
• Is there anything in the first aid boxes that is past its use by date?
• Are extra first aid boxes required?
• Are there any specific requirements for accident treatment?

Discover a free first aid checklist

Any identified hazards should be evaluated using a risk assessment. Use our risk assessment to create unlimited risk assessments online.