Time as a Public Health Control Checklist

Time can be used as the control only for specific foods and processes, for a limited period, and only where a written procedure and the applicable regulation permit it. The permitted foods, the length of the control period, and the required records vary by jurisdiction and by your food-safety plan. This checklist does not decide whether time control is allowed for your operation; it assumes you have a compliant procedure and helps you apply and record it consistently. Confirm what is permitted with your food-safety plan and the applicable regulation before relying on time control.

Typically you record the food or process, the procedure that permits time control, the time the food came off temperature control, the time it must be used or discarded by, and monitoring as the period runs. You also record the disposition of any food that passes the allowed period, along with corrective action and supervisor verification. Labeling each item with its use-or-discard time is central, so anyone on shift knows the status. The exact records depend on your procedure and the applicable regulation, which the checklist captures rather than fixes.

Food held under time control that passes the allowed period must be discarded, not sold or served, because time was the only thing keeping it safe. The checklist prompts staff to identify expired food, discard it, and record the corrective action, so an exceeded period is handled consistently rather than ignored. Recording it also surfaces where the control period is regularly exceeded, which may point to portioning, labeling, or process changes. The specific allowed period comes from your procedure and the applicable regulation, not from the checklist.

In InspectWrk, time control runs as a structured record on a phone. Staff confirm the food and the permitting procedure, record the start time, label the food with its use-or-discard time, and monitor against the allowed period, with reminders and clear status. Expired food is recorded as discarded with corrective action, and supervisors verify the records. Everything is timestamped and stored in one place, so an operation can show that time control was applied correctly for each item and that expired food was removed, rather than relying on memory or loose labels.