Sauce storage and handling in a restaurant kitchen: a practical guide

Sauces are easy to ignore in a food safety plan, because they are small and they come from a pouch. But a sauce touches nearly every plate. A bad habit with a sauce can spread across a whole shift. This guide shows how to store and handle mayonnaise, ketchup, chilli garlic sauce and batch sauces in a restaurant kitchen, using the World Health Organization's five keys to safer food as a guide.

This is general advice. Always follow the instructions on the pack, your own food safety plan and the rules of your food authority.

The WHO five keys, in a sauce kitchen

The WHO's Five keys to safer food are keep clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, and use safe water and raw materials. Here is what each key means at the sauce station.

1. Keep clean. Wash hands before you handle sauces. Clean squeeze bottles, tubs and spoons every day. Wipe the spout and rim of a pouch.
2. Separate raw and cooked food. Never use the same spoon for a sauce and for raw meat. Keep marinades away from sauces that go straight onto food.
3. Cook thoroughly. Sauces served cold, such as mayonnaise, do not get cooked, so the other keys matter more. Cook anything that goes into a hot sauce, such as a glaze, properly.
4. Keep food at safe temperatures. Keep chilled sauces in the fridge, and do not leave them on the counter for long. Use a bowl set in ice on a warm line.
5. Use safe water and raw materials. Use clean water to wash equipment, and buy from suppliers you can identify. Keep invoices.

Receiving a delivery

A delivery is the first control point.

• Check the carton is clean and dry, with no tears.
• Check the pouches or sachets are sealed, with no leaks.
• Check the dates printed on the pack, and refuse anything out of date.
• Keep the invoice and note the delivery date.
• Move cartons to storage quickly.

Storing unopened stock

Unopened cartons are the easiest stock to look after.

• Use a clean, dry shelf, off the floor.
• Keep cartons away from direct sun, heat and wet areas.
• Stack so that the oldest stock is at the front.
• Keep chemicals and cleaning products on a separate shelf.
• Follow any storage instructions printed on the pack.

First in, first out

Use the oldest stock first. A simple routine helps: when a new carton arrives, put it behind the older stock, and write the receiving date on it. Once a week, check the dates on the shelf.

Opening a pouch

When you open a pouch, treat it as a new item.

1. Wash hands and clean the spout.
2. Write the opening date and your initials on a label.
3. Squeeze into a clean bottle or bowl, without touching the spout to the container.
4. Close the spout after each use.
5. Keep the pouch in the place the pack instructions say.
6. Follow the guidance on the pack and your own rules for how long to keep an opened pouch.

Batch sauces

Many shops make garlic mayo, shawarma sauce and burger sauce in batches. These need extra care, because they contain fresh ingredients.

• Make small batches.
• Use clean, lidded tubs.
• Label every tub with the name, the date and the maker.
• Keep batch sauces in the fridge.
• Use a clean spoon every time.
• Never top up an old batch with a new one.
• Throw away a batch at the time your own rules say.

Squeeze bottles and service

Bottles on the line are handy, but they need a routine.

• Fill them from the batch tub, not by pouring from another bottle.
• Wash and dry them every day.
• Keep bottle tips clean, and wipe them during service.
• Keep a small number of bottles on the line, and keep the rest in the fridge.

Delivery and takeaway portions

For delivery, sealed sachets give clean single portions. Keep sachet cartons closed and off the floor. Give packers a card with portion rules. Our guide to sauces for food delivery has more detail.

What to throw away

Throw away sauce that has:

• Been left out for a long time.
• Come back from a table.
• A strange smell, colour or texture.
• Passed the date on the pack.
• Touched raw meat or a dirty tool.

When in doubt, throw it out. The cost of a few grams of sauce is small compared with the cost of a complaint.

A daily sauce checklist

Print this checklist and tick it at opening and closing.

• Hands washed, gloves on.
• Bottles washed and filled.
• Batch tubs labelled and in date.
• Fridge temperature checked.
• Pouches closed, spouts wiped.
• Cartons off the floor.
• Waste sauce thrown away.

Training your team

Show every new cook the checklist on day one. Do a short check each week, and praise good habits. A team that handles sauces carefully will handle the rest of the kitchen carefully too.

Inspections

Keep supplier invoices, labels and cleaning logs. If an inspector visits, tidy records show that you run the kitchen with care. Our guide to the Punjab Food Authority licence explains the basics.

Need supply?

If you want sauces in 4 kg pouches and 9 g sachets for a restaurant, read the restaurant supply page or send an enquiry.