Food safetyfor food trucks.
Lemon keeps a food truck's food safety records on the phone in your pocket: fridge checks, cook and hot-hold checks, goods in, cleaning checks and allergens. Readings save even when the signal drops.
What records does a food truck need to keep?
Every UK food truck needs food safety procedures based on HACCP principles, and records that show the team follows them. It must be registered with a local authority, and is inspected like any other food business.
Day to day, a food truck's records come down to these seven.
| Record | What it shows | In Lemon |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge and freezer temperatures | Chilled food on the truck stayed cold, checked at least once a day. | Temperature logs |
| Cook and hot-hold | The core temperature of the food, and who probed it. | Food checks |
| Problems and what you did | What went wrong, what the team did about it, and whether food was affected. | Issue reports |
| Goods in | Supplier or cash and carry, temperature, use-by and condition. | Deliveries |
| Cleaning and closing checks | The truck was cleaned and packed down, and who did it. | Checklists |
| Allergen information | Which of the 14 allergens each dish contains, so the hatch can answer. | Allergen matrix |
| Staff training | Who has been trained in food safety, weekend help included. | Staff training |
Cook and hot-hold at the hatch.
Tap Cook or Hot-hold, type the dish and the reading, and save. Each button shows its target, and Lemon records the number you probed beside it.
Every check carries the name of whoever took it and the time, so the day is on file without a clipboard on the counter.
Food checks, step by step
Works where the signal doesn't.
At a festival or a market, readings, food checks, goods in and issue reports save on the phone first and send when the connection returns, even if the app is closed.
Checklists still need a connection, so run the close-down once you are back in range.
How temperature logs work
Allergen answers at the hatch.
Record every dish against the 14 allergens, with a may-contain list and notes for swaps.
Whoever is at the hatch searches the dish, or picks an allergen to see which dishes contain it, with who confirmed it and when.
How the allergen matrix worksExample day
A Saturday at the market.
Who records what, and what is on file by close. Names and readings are made up.
- 07:00
Goods in
Chicken and buns from the cash and carry, logged at 4°C with the use-by checked.
- 09:30
Set up on the pitch
Ola checks the truck fridge. There is no signal on the pitch, so the reading saves on the phone.
- 11:45
First batch
Cook, chicken, 78°C. The hot cabinet is probed at 68°C and saved as Hot-hold.
- 13:20
“Is there gluten in the batter?”
Ola searches Allergens and answers from what was entered.
- 16:00
The truck fridge reads 9°C
After the rush, Lemon flags it. Ola moves the stock to the cool box and notes it in the issue.
- 18:30
Pack down
Back in signal, the day's readings send, and Ola runs Closing Checks.
On file by close
- Goods in, with its reading and use-by
- Cook and hot-hold checks, named and timed
- Fridge checks, including the one taken offline
- One issue: what went wrong and what was done
- Closing checks, in full
Export any range of dates as one PDF. Nothing to type up first.
See a sample reportWhat Lemon does not do for a food truck.
- It does not run checklists offline.Readings save without signal. Checklists need a connection.
- It does not keep gas, electrical or water records.Certificates and water tank checks stay in your other files.
- It does not handle pitches or trading licences.Bookings and street trading consent stay with you and the council.
- It does not print labels.Food you wrap before anyone orders needs a full ingredients label.
- It does not read probes or sensors.
Food truck questions,
answered.
Something else on your mind?hi@getlemon.app
Where does a food truck register?
With a local authority, at least 28 days before you start trading. Councils usually ask a mobile business to register where the truck is kept overnight, not everywhere it trades, so check with yours. That council usually inspects the truck and gives it a hygiene rating.
Does Lemon work at a festival with no signal?
Temperature readings, food checks, deliveries and issue reports are saved on the phone first and sent when the connection returns, even if the app is closed in the meantime. Checklists still need a connection, so run them where the phone has signal.
Do we need a separate location for each truck?
Yes, one location per truck, at £19 per location per month. Each truck keeps its own fridges, team and records.
Does a food truck need a HACCP plan?
A food truck needs food safety procedures based on HACCP principles, written down and followed. Most use a ready-made pack such as Safer Food, Better Business, or CookSafe in Scotland. Lemon keeps the daily records. It does not write the pack.
Do we need new thermometers or sensors?
No. Use the probe you have and type the reading. Lemon needs no hardware beyond your phone.
Can a weekend helper record checks?
Yes. Each person gets their own login at no extra cost, so every record shows who made it. Helpers can record checks and read the allergen matrix, but cannot change units, checklists or dishes.
Something else on your mind?hi@getlemon.app
Keep reading.
SFBB, CookSafe, Safe Catering or MyHACCP? Choose the right UK packWhich official pack applies to your nation and your business.- Fridge temperature record sheet: free UK log templateA printable fridge log with space for readings and what you did.
- Restaurant delivery checklist UKWhat to check and record when goods arrive.
Try it free
for 14 days.
Then £19 per location per month. Every fridge, every team member, staff training included.
No card needed.
