FSSAI Daily Checklist
An FSSAI-aligned daily checklist covers the checks that fail fastest. These include chiller (no more than 5°C) and freezer (no more than −18°C) temperature logs at open and close. They also include a use-by sweep of kitchen, stores and bar, fresh-produce inspection, veg/non-veg segregation, and handler hygiene. Below are the 17 daily checks. Each cites the regulation behind it. Where one exists, it also cites the 2026 enforcement case where that exact failure cost an outlet its licence.
The checklist · 17 checks · every check cites its legal basis
Cold chain & stock condition
1. Read and log temperatures of every chiller (target 5°C or below) and freezer (target -18°C or below) at opening and closing; flag any unit out of range and move stock immediately.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (storage) and (time and temperature control). Enforcement precedent: Expired/spoiled cold-store stock seized at Bengaluru 5-star hotels (7 Aug 2026).
2. Inspect fruits, vegetables and fresh perishables at start of shift; remove anything showing rot, mould/fungal spots or off-odour and enter it in the discard log.Required under FSS Act 2006 – unsafe food provisions; FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (procurement of raw materials). Enforcement precedent: 200 kg fungal/rotten vegetables seized at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.
3. Run a use-by/best-before sweep of kitchen, stores and bar: nothing past its date may remain in any storage or prep area; discard and record.Required under FSS Act 2006; FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (stock rotation - use the oldest stock first (FIFO/FEFO)). Enforcement precedent: Expired milk, meat and bakery items seized across 26 Bengaluru hotels; expired stock at Mumbai clubs.
4. Confirm vegetarian and non-vegetarian raw materials are held and prepared in their designated separate areas with separate equipment and utensils.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (segregation in storage); veg/non-veg segregation is stated at Schedule 4 Part I. Enforcement precedent: Veg/non-veg mixing cited at Mumbai clubs and Bengaluru hotels.
5. Verify hot-held food stays at 65°C or above and cold-held at 5°C or below during service; date-mark leftovers and either chill promptly or discard per outlet policy.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (time and temperature control). Enforcement precedent: Improper food handling cited at Four Seasons Bengaluru.
6. Cook food to the FSSAI core temperatures: vegetarian to 60°C for 10 minutes or 65°C for 2 minutes; non-vegetarian to 65°C for 10 minutes, 70°C for 2 minutes or 75°C for 15 seconds core temperature. Probe and log at least one batch of each item per shift.Verbatim from the FSSAI Catering inspection checklist, item 23 (asterisked critical), under Schedule 4 Part II time/temperature control. Undercooking high-risk food is a direct cause of foodborne illness.
7. Cool cooked food intended for refrigeration from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours or less, then further to 5°C within a further 2 hours or less; date and label before it goes to the chiller.Verbatim from the FSSAI Catering inspection checklist, item 24 (asterisked critical), under Schedule 4 Part II time/temperature control.
8. Reheat food so its core temperature reaches 75°C and hold it there for at least 2 minutes; reheat once only. Do not reheat by adding hot water, or by holding under a bain-marie or heat lamp.Verbatim from the FSSAI Catering inspection checklist, item 27 (asterisked critical), under Schedule 4 Part II time/temperature control.
Hygiene, pests & premises
9. Walk all floors, wash areas and drain lines: drains running free, no pooled or stagnant water anywhere; clear blockages before service starts.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (drainage and waste disposal) and (cleaning and maintenance). Enforcement precedent: Stagnant water/clogged drains cited at Punjab Grill (Navi Mumbai) and CCI.
10. Do a visual pest sweep of kitchen, dry store, cold rooms and bar counters: any live or dead insects, droppings or gnaw marks stops prep in that zone until cleaned and treated.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (pest control systems). Enforcement precedent: Cockroach and fly infestation grounds for suspension at Punjab Grill and Mumbai clubs.
11. Confirm all handwash points are working and stocked with soap and single-use towels/dryer; sanitiser available at prep stations.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (personnel facilities and toilets). Enforcement precedent: General hygiene deficiency cited across Pune suspensions.
12. Sanitise food-contact surfaces, boards and knives at open and close; confirm colour-coded boards are in use for raw meat, raw veg and cooked food.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (equipment & containers) and (cleaning and maintenance). Enforcement precedent: Unhygienic kitchen conditions across Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru actions.
13. Confirm bins are lidded and foot-operated, waste is segregated, and all kitchen waste leaves the kitchen by close of day; bin area washed down.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (drainage and waste disposal). Enforcement precedent: Sanitation failures part of Pune suspension grounds.
14. Offer safe drinking water to guests free of charge; check water dispensers, jugs and filters are visibly clean.State FDA directive adopted as common practice - Maharashtra FDA directive (Jul 2026); FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (water supply). Enforcement precedent: Named in Maharashtra FDA mandatory directives (16–17 Jul 2026).
People & daily practices
15. Check every fryer: oil that is dark, foaming or smoking abnormally is discarded to the used-oil container; record top-ups and discards in the oil log. Frying oil is never reused beyond the outlet's set change cycle.Required under FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011, reg. 2.3.15(8) - inserted by the Third Amendment Regulations 2020 (Gazette of India Extraordinary Pt III s.4, 26 Oct 2020): used oil in which Total Polar Compounds exceed 25% shall not be used, and fresh oil shall not exceed 15%; RUCO framework; reinforced by Maharashtra FDA directive Jul 2026. Enforcement precedent: Oil-reuse prohibition in Maharashtra FDA compliance directives (16–17 Jul 2026).
16. Check every food handler on shift: clean uniform, hair covered, nails trimmed, no loose jewellery, cuts covered with waterproof dressing; anyone with fever, diarrhoea or skin infection is moved off food handling.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (health status; personal cleanliness). Enforcement precedent: Handler hygiene lapses part of Mumbai/Pune suspension grounds.
17. Confirm frozen items are thawed under refrigeration or running potable water only - never on counters at room temperature; nothing is refrozen after thawing.Required under FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, Schedule 4 Part II (thawing controls). Enforcement precedent: Improper handling practices cited in Bengaluru raids.
Temperature log
Chillers no more than 5°C · freezers no more than −18°C - logged at opening, closingChillers must read 5°C or below, freezers −18°C or below. If out of range: move stock to a working unit, note the time, and log the corrective action. Do not serve food held out of temperature.
The law behind these checks
Primary sources - the Act, the Schedule and the frying-oil notificationChecks 1–11, 13 and 14 rest on Schedule 4 of the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011. Schedule 4 is headed General Hygienic and Sanitary practices to be followed by Food Business operators (see Regulation 2.1.2). Part I applies to petty food businesses applying for registration. Part II applies to all food business operators applying for a licence. Its numbered sections are the ones cited above. They are 4.1 water supply, 4.5 drainage and waste disposal, and 4.6 personnel facilities. They also include 5.1 procurement, 5.2 storage, and 5.3.1 time and temperature control. And they include 9.1 cleaning and maintenance, 9.2 pest control, and 10.1–10.2 personal hygiene. Check 12 rests on a separate instrument: regulation 2.3.15(8) of the FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011. This was inserted by the Third Amendment Regulations 2020. It sets the 25% Total Polar Compounds ceiling for used frying oil, and 15% for fresh oil. Compliance was required from 1 July 2021. Note what the law does not fix. Schedule 4 Part II requires time and temperature control. But it does not itself set the 5°C, −18°C and 65°C figures used on this page. Those are the working targets this checklist applies, not quoted statutory numbers.
India Code - Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (full text and subordinate regulations) FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011 - full PDF incl. Schedule 4 (India Code) Gazette of India, 26 Oct 2020 - FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Third Amendment Regulations, 2020 (25% Total Polar Compounds) The enforcement record behind these checks
These aren't theoretical risks - each maps to real 2026 enforcement actions:
Breaching standing FDA directives: cooking-oil reuse, packaging, water, misleading menusMaharashtra FDA issued several 2026 directives. One bans cooking-oil reuse (the 25% Total Polar Compounds ceiling in reg. 2.3.15(8), FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011). Another requires free safe drinking water. A third requires food-grade packaging (a 4-point critical item since FSSAI's checklist revision). Outlets also need a valid licence before operating, and menus must not mislead. A separate order bans HFSS items within 50 m of schools (29 Jul order).
Pune Pulse - FDA suspends 21 establishments, seizes ₹50.65 lakh FSSAI Hygiene Rating sample checklist (51 questions / 122 points) See every reported action: what happened, where, and which check catches it →
Frequently asked questions
What daily food safety checks does FSSAI expect in a restaurant?The daily core has several parts. Log every chiller (5°C or below) and freezer (−18°C or below) at opening and closing. Sweep all storage for anything past its use-by or best-before date. Inspect fresh produce and discard rot or mould. Maintain vegetarian/non-vegetarian segregation in storage and prep. And confirm handler hygiene basics. These trace to Schedule 4 of the FSS (Licensing & Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011 (see Regulation 2.1.2). They are linked in the evidence section below.
What temperature should commercial fridges and freezers be in India?Chillers at 5°C or below, freezers at −18°C or below, logged at least at opening and closing. Stock held out of range should be moved immediately, and the corrective action recorded. Expired and spoiled cold-store stock was among the most common seizures in the July–August 2026 enforcement drives.
What violations actually get restaurants raided or suspended?The 2026 enforcement waves cited a consistent set. It included expired stock (76 kg meat and 32 L expired milk seized at one Bengaluru hotel alone). It also included rotten or fungal produce (200 kg at one property). Other findings were pest infestation, clogged drains and stagnant water, missing veg/non-veg segregation, and missing handler health records. Six Mumbai FSSAI licences - five clubs and one restaurant - were suspended in four days on these grounds. The restaurant has challenged its suspension in the Bombay High Court.
The other tiers
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