The safe method sheets in your pack describe how your kitchen does things. A prove-it check is the evidence that the description is true. You cook the thing the way your sheet says, probe it, write down what you got, and keep that as proof that the method produces safe food in your kitchen, with your equipment.
It is a one-off per method, not a daily routine. That is exactly why it gets forgotten: there is no rhythm to it, nothing prompts you, and nothing looks wrong until an inspector asks how you know your chicken is done.
What a prove-it check actually proves
Take cooking. Your safe method might say you cook chicken thighs for 35 minutes at 180°C. That is a description of a process. The prove-it check is you probing one of those thighs at the end of 35 minutes, getting 78°C, and writing it down. From then on the timer is doing the work, because you have evidence that the timer is enough.
Not the same as a daily record
SC2, SC3 and SC4 record what happened today. A prove-it check records that your method is sound, so you do not have to probe every single portion forever.
Tied to a method, not a date
One per way of doing something. Change the recipe, the oven or the portion size and the old proof no longer covers it.
The answer to "how do you know?"
It is the question inspectors ask when a method looks reasonable but unevidenced. A prove-it record answers it in one line.
When you need to do one
- You write or change a safe method.
- You add a dish that is cooked, cooled, reheated or held hot in a new way.
- You buy or replace equipment. A new oven, a new bain-marie, a different chiller.
- You change portion size or batch size, which changes how long the middle takes.
- Something went wrong and you have changed the method in response.
- An inspector asks how you know a method is safe and you have nothing to show.
In the app a prove-it check sits with the method it belongs to rather than in the diary, so it is still there a year later when nobody remembers doing it.
The six methods and the figures they check against
These are the same six the pack asks about, with the number each one is testing:
- Cooking: 75°C or above at the core, or an equivalent time and temperature such as 70°C for two minutes.
- Reheating: 75°C or above.
- Hot holding: 63°C or above.
- Chilled storage and display: 8°C or below.
- Freezing: -18°C or below.
- Chilling down hot food: as quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes.
The app lets you save the reading you actually took, including one that misses. A prove-it check that failed is useful: it tells you the method needs changing, and the record of you changing it is worth more than a number that was always going to pass.
The Safe Method Completion Record
The completion record is the front sheet of the pack: one page listing all 31 safe method sheets and whether each has been filled in. It is the first thing an inspector turns to, because it shows at a glance how much of the pack is real and how much is still blank.
The app keeps it up to date on its own. Fill in a sheet and the completion record reflects it; it prints at the front of the EHO pack with the sheets behind it, then the allergen chart, the staff training record and the diary for the period you chose. Sections with nothing in them are left out of the bundle, but the completion record still shows the full list, including the gaps.
Common questions
What is a prove-it check?
A one-off check that shows one of your safe methods actually produces safe food in your kitchen. You follow the method, take a reading, and keep it as evidence so you do not have to probe every portion from then on.
How often do I need to do prove-it checks?
There is no schedule. You do one when the method is new or has changed: a new recipe, new equipment, a different batch size, or a method you have rewritten after something went wrong.
Is a prove-it check the same as the SC2 or SC3 record?
No. SC2 and SC3 record what happened on a given day. A prove-it check records that the method itself is sound, and is not repeated daily.
What is the Safe Method Completion Record?
A single page listing all 31 safe method sheets and whether each one has been completed. It is the summary an inspector reads first, and the app keeps it current as you fill sheets in.
Where can I get a prove-it record sheet as a PDF?
The app prints prove-it records onto the official FSA form, so you can export a PDF at any time rather than finding a blank one and filling it in by hand.
Keep reading
Prove a method once, then stop worrying about it
Free on iOS and Android, exports included.
