Security & Data Protection: Your Records Stay Yours
Your Food Control Plan records are documents the law requires you to keep — so before you move them into any product, you deserve straight answers. This page covers where your data lives, who can see it, how you get it out, and what happens if you leave. Everything here matches our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Questions before you switch? Email [email protected] — we answer during NZ business hours.
The short version
Encrypted in transit
Every connection to KitchenSorted uses TLS (HTTPS) — the padlock in your browser — on the website and in the app.
Role-based access
Access within your business is controlled by roles: staff see what they need to log, owners and admins manage the rest.
Export any time
Your data is yours. Export a copy of your account data whenever you like, on any plan — no lock-in.
Records never deleted on free
The free plan shows 30 days of history; older records are retained, not deleted, and unlock when you upgrade.
Payments by Stripe
Card payments are processed by Stripe. We never store your full card details.
Automated backups
Automated backups are part of our hosting setup — and we still recommend periodic exports as good practice.
Where is my data stored?
KitchenSorted runs on secure servers operated with reputable third-party providers, and every connection is encrypted in transit with TLS. Some of our providers store or process information outside New Zealand — currently Stripe (payment processing), Cloudflare (hosting and file storage) and Google (Google Analytics). Where personal information goes to an overseas provider, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected by comparable safeguards, consistent with IPP 12 of the Privacy Act 2020.
Those are the only overseas providers our Privacy Policy names, and if that list changes, the policy changes first. Stripe handles your card details end to end — we never see or store full card numbers. The Privacy Policy also sets out the wider security measures we apply, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and monitoring.
Who can see my records?
Your team, on your terms. Access within your business is role-based: staff members get their own logins and see what they need to do their daily logging, while owners and admins manage settings, users and reports. Our own staff do not access your data except as necessary to provide the service, to resolve a support issue with your consent, or to comply with legal obligations — exactly as our Terms of Service state.
Separate logins matter for more than security: every entry captures the date, the time, the result and who did it — the record content regulations 37 and 82 of the Food Regulations 2015 require. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes; we cannot read them.
Can I get my data out?
Yes, at any time. You retain ownership of every record you enter, and you can export a copy of your account data yourself whenever you like — no support ticket, no waiting, no exit fee. Paid plans add formatted PDF and Excel reports and verification packs on top, and you can always request a full copy of your account data by emailing us.
This is deliberate. Because the record-keeping duty is yours, not your software's, you should never be in a position where changing tools means losing records. Export before you cancel, export before you delete, or just export monthly for your own files — it is your data either way.
How long are my records kept?
On the free plan you see the most recent 30 days of history; older records are retained, not deleted, and unlock in full when you upgrade. On the paid plan your records are kept for at least 4 years, matching the retention period regulations 36 and 81 of the Food Regulations 2015 set for Food Control Plan and National Programme operators. Either way, your records are exportable for your own retention at any time.
Honest framing: the 4-year duty is yours, not your software's. The law requires you, the operator, to keep each record for at least 4 years after it is created. Paper records or your own exports satisfy that duty just as well as any app. The paid plan simply makes it hands-off — 4 years of history, verification packs and reminders live there, and your free-plan records are never deleted while you decide. See the pricing page for exactly what sits in each plan.
What about backups?
Automated backups are part of our hosting setup. We deliberately do not publish recovery-time promises we have not proven in practice — when we can stand behind more detail, it will appear on this page. In the meantime, the belt-and-braces move costs nothing: export your records periodically and keep your own copy, which is good practice with any software.
What happens if I delete my account?
Account deletion is honoured as described in our Privacy Policy: after deletion your data is retained for a short grace period (so an accidental deletion is not fatal) and then permanently deleted, unless we are required to keep it by law. Under the Privacy Act 2020 you can ask for access to the personal information we hold and ask us to correct it; you can also ask us to delete your account data at any time, which we honour as described in our Privacy Policy.
One practical note: your business's obligation to keep food safety records survives your account. Export your records before deleting, so your own 4-year file stays complete.
How do I report a security issue or privacy concern?
Email [email protected] for security issues or suspected incidents, and [email protected] to reach our Privacy Officer for privacy matters. If a breach ever affects your information, we will tell you promptly and work with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner where required.
Support runs by email during NZ business hours — you can also use the contact form. We are a New Zealand product answering New Zealand enquiries, so you will not be routed through an offshore call centre queue.
Where are the certification badges?
There aren't any, and we won't invent them. KitchenSorted is a young product: rather than collecting badges, we publish exactly what we do — on this page, in the Privacy Policy and in the Terms of Service — and keep it current as our security posture matures. If a claim is not on those pages, we are not making it.
If your due diligence needs an answer this page doesn't give, ask us directly: [email protected]. A straight "here's what we do" or "we don't do that yet" beats a vague assurance.
Sources & review
- Food Regulations 2015 (regs 36–37, 81–82 — record retention and content)
- MPI: Record keeping guidance, February 2026 (PDF)
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.
Your Records, Protected and Portable
Start free today — export any time, and nothing you record on the free plan is ever deleted.