Can You Keep Food Safety Records Digitally in NZ?
Yes. MPI's Record keeping guidance (February 2026) explicitly lists digital methods — spreadsheets, Google Sheets and Docs, online forms, phone-accessible online storage — as acceptable ways to keep the records your Food Control Plan requires. National Programme records follow the same medium-neutral rules under regulations 81–82 of the Food Regulations 2015. The medium is your choice; what's fixed is that every record must be accurate, easy to read, show what/when/who, be available when your verifier or MPI asks, and be kept for 4 years.
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Reviewed 2 August 2026 · KitchenSorted team · Re-reviewed quarterly
What does MPI actually say about digital records?
MPI's Record keeping guidance (February 2026, Version 1) devotes its third page to “Some ideas for other ways you might keep your records”. It lists six methods side by side — three of them digital, and none of them second-class. In MPI's own words:
Spreadsheets in online storage
“Type up your records in a spreadsheet” and save it to “online storage like Google Drive, Drop Box, Office 365” — because, as MPI puts it, “online storage lets you access the info on your phone or other device”.
Templates copied into other file types
“You can copy the record templates” from MPI's Record Templates files “into any other file type (like Google Sheets, Jot Form, Google Docs)” and save them to your computer or online storage.
QR codes to online record forms
“Create a QR code that links to your online files such as Google Sheets, Jot Form or Excel online”, print it and put it somewhere handy — “like the fridge or whiteboard” — then scan it with your phone to open the record form.
Whiteboard photos
“Write your records on a white board” — cleaning schedules and temperature checks, for example — then “take photos of your whiteboard and save those to your computer or online storage”.
Notebooks and diaries
“Write records in note books or diaries” — the classic method, and still perfectly acceptable.
Printed templates in a ring binder
“Print off record templates that work for you”, write your record info on them, and “file the print offs in a ring binder”.
Notice what that list means: paper record-keeping remains legal and MPI-supported — the choice between a ring binder and a spreadsheet is about what fits your kitchen, not about what the rules allow.
An important independence note
MPI describes record-keeping methods generically. It does not endorse, approve or certify any product — not Google Sheets, not Jot Form, and not KitchenSorted. KitchenSorted is an independent product with no MPI affiliation; the quotes on this page come from MPI's public guidance, linked so you can read them in context and check them yourself.
The rules every record must meet — whatever the medium
The same guidance states the universal bar. In MPI's words, “all records must”:
- “be accurate”
- “be easy to read”
- “identify what was done”
- “say when it was done”
- “say who did it”
- “records need to be available when requested by verifier and MPI”
- “be kept for 4 years”
That mirrors the law. Regulations 36 and 81 of the Food Regulations 2015 require each record to be kept for at least 4 years after the date it was created, and regulations 37 and 82 require each activity record to state the date (and time where appropriate), describe the results, and name or otherwise identify the person who performed the activity. None of those regulations cares whether the record lives on paper or a server — the duty sits with you, the operator, either way. More on the 4-year rule: How long do you need to keep food safety records in NZ?
DIY digital vs purpose-built: an honest comparison
MPI's DIY suggestions genuinely work. A Google Sheet built from MPI's record blanks — which MPI publishes in Word and Excel precisely so you can adapt them — shared with staff and saved to Drive is a legitimate record-keeping system. Plenty of small operations run exactly that. The difference is friction, not legality.
What DIY sheets and forms do well
- Free or nearly free, on tools you already use
- MPI-suggested, so nobody can question the method
- Completely flexible — your columns, your layout
- Fine for a very small operation with one diligent record-keeper
Where the friction shows up
- Nothing reminds anyone when the morning fridge check gets missed
- A 9°C reading in a cell doesn't ask what you did about it — the corrective action lives in someone's head
- “Who did it” depends on staff typing initials into every row, every time
- Before a verification visit, you assemble months of sheets, photos and binder pages by hand
Purpose-built record-keeping removes exactly that friction: reminders when a check is due, out-of-range flags that prompt a corrective action linked to the log entry that triggered it, automatic capture of who/when/result on every entry — the three things regulation 37 requires of an activity record — and a one-click verification pack when your verifier asks to see records.
KitchenSorted is that purpose-built option for NZ: see how it covers each Food Control Plan record. The daily diary is free forever — the only free-forever web-based Food Control Plan record-keeping product in NZ (last checked August 2026). Reminders, verification packs and 4 years of visible history live in the paid plan; your free-plan records are never deleted and unlock when you upgrade. And if paper suits you better, our free printable templates are a fine place to start.
Digital record-keeping FAQs
Will my verifier accept records from an app?
Records must meet the regulation 37 (or 82) bar whatever the medium: accurate, dated, showing what was done, when and by whom, and available when your verifier or MPI requests them. Verifiers routinely review digital records — MPI's own guidance points operators at Google Sheets and online forms. The practical courtesy is making the records easy to see: have a device ready at the verification visit, or export a PDF pack in advance. KitchenSorted's verification pack does that export in one click.
Is paper record-keeping still allowed?
Yes. Paper is legal and MPI actively supports it — the current Simply Safe & Suitable record blanks were refreshed on 27 February 2026 in PDF, Word and Excel on MPI's Forms and documents page. Choose between paper and digital on friction — speed, reminders, finding records later — never because anyone tells you paper is banned.
Does MPI provide its own record-keeping app?
No. MPI supplies printable and editable record templates plus the generic method ideas quoted above — spreadsheets, Jot Form, whiteboard photos, QR codes — but no official app, hosted forms or reminder system. Any product you choose, including KitchenSorted, is independent of MPI and doesn't carry MPI approval.
If I switch to digital, what happens to my old paper records?
Keep them — the 4-year retention duty (regulations 36 and 81, Food Regulations 2015) applies to records you've already created, and paper satisfies it. There's no need to re-type old binders: store them somewhere safe and start digital from today. Details in our record retention guide.
Sources & review
- MPI: Record keeping guidance, February 2026 (PDF)
- MPI: Forms and documents for Food Act plans and programmes
- Food Regulations 2015 (regs 36–37, 81–82)
Reviewed on 2 August 2026 by the KitchenSorted team. Regulatory pages are re-reviewed quarterly, and immediately when MPI announces template or policy changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
This page is general information, not legal or food-safety advice. Always confirm requirements with MPI, your registration authority, or your verifier.