Food Control Plan Staff Training: What to Cover, How to Record It

Staff training is a requirement of every Food Control Plan in New Zealand. Your verifier will check that your team has been trained on your food safety procedures, and that you have records to prove it. This guide covers what training you need to provide, how to record it, and the mistakes that catch businesses out.

Why Training Records Matter

Your Food Control Plan describes how your business keeps food safe. But the plan is only useful if your team knows what’s in it and follows the procedures. Training is how you bridge that gap.

Verifiers check training records because they want to see that:

• Every staff member who handles food has been trained on the relevant procedures
• New staff are trained before they start handling food unsupervised
• Training is refreshed when procedures change
• There’s a record of what was covered and when

A business with no training records, or records that are out of date, is a common reason for issues at a verification visit.

What to Cover in Training

Your training should cover the procedures in your Food Control Plan that are relevant to each staff member’s role. Not everyone needs to know everything, but everyone who handles food needs to know the basics.

For All Food-Handling Staff

• Personal hygiene: Handwashing procedures (when and how), uniform requirements, illness reporting (staff with vomiting or diarrhoea must not handle food)
• Temperature basics: What the danger zone is (5°C to 60°C), why temperature control matters
• Cross-contamination prevention: Keeping raw and cooked food separate, using separate chopping boards and utensils, allergen management
• Cleaning and sanitising: The difference between cleaning (removing dirt) and sanitising (killing bacteria), daily cleaning responsibilities
• What to do when something goes wrong: Who to tell, how to record a corrective action, what to do if a fridge is too warm or food is dropped

For Staff Doing Temperature Checks

• How to use a probe thermometer correctly
• Where to probe (thickest part of the food, centre of the container)
• What the acceptable ranges are for your operation
• How to record temperature readings (actual numbers, not just “OK”)
• What to do when a reading is outside range
• How to calibrate the thermometer

See our temperature monitoring guide for full details.

For Staff Receiving Deliveries

• What to check on arrival (temperature, packaging condition, use-by dates)
• When to reject a delivery
• How to record delivery checks
• Where and how to store deliveries immediately

For Managers / Supervisors

• How the FCP works as a whole
• Where the plan is kept and how to access it
• How to complete and review daily records
• How to handle and document corrective actions
• What happens during a verification visit
• When and how to update the FCP

How to Record Training

Good training records include:

• Staff member’s name
• Date of training
• What was covered (list the topics or FCP procedures)
• Who delivered the training (name of trainer)
• Acknowledgement (staff member’s signature or confirmation that they completed the training)

You don’t need to write a detailed curriculum. A simple record that shows who was trained, on what, and when is sufficient. The key is that it exists and it’s up to date.

Template for Paper Records

If you’re using paper, a staff training record should look something like:

Staff Name	Date	Topics Covered	Trainer	Signed
Maria L.	10/03/2026	Personal hygiene, temperature checks, corrective actions	James T.	Yes
David K.	10/03/2026	Delivery receiving, storage procedures, allergens	James T.	Yes

Keep these records with your FCP documentation. They need to be available when your verifier visits.

When to Train

New Staff

Before they start handling food unsupervised. Ideally on their first day or during their first week. Don’t wait until they’ve been working for a month. If something goes wrong in that time, you have no evidence they were trained.

When Procedures Change

If you update your FCP (new menu items, new equipment, changed processes), any staff affected by the change need to know about it. Record that you told them.

After a Verification Visit

If your verifier identifies an issue, train your team on the corrective action and the correct procedure going forward. Record it.

Regular Refresher

At least annually, do a refresher on the key food safety procedures. Staff forget things over time, especially procedures they don’t use every day. An annual refresher also gives you a clear record trail.

Common Mistakes

No records at all. This is the most common problem. Training might be happening informally (you show a new staff member around and explain things verbally) but without a record, it doesn’t count for compliance purposes.

Records only for current staff. You need to keep training records for staff who have left as well, for at least 4 years. If a verifier asks about training records for a staff member who left 6 months ago, you need to be able to show them.

Generic training certificates. A food safety certificate from a course is useful background, but it doesn’t replace FCP-specific training. Your verifier wants to see that staff were trained on your procedures, not just general food safety principles.

One-off training with no follow-up. If you trained everyone two years ago and nothing since, that’s a gap. Procedures change, staff forget, new risks emerge. Training should be ongoing.

Making It Easier

Recording staff training on paper means another form to manage, another document to file, and another thing to dig out when the verifier arrives.

The Template FCP App tracks training records alongside all your other FCP documentation. Log who was trained, on what, and when, then pull it up in seconds when your verifier asks. No folders, no searching.

Start a free trial. Takes less than five minutes to set up.