Supply Quality Checklist

Refrigerated trailers from Sysco, US Foods, or PFG should hold 41°F or below for cold product and 0°F or below for frozen. Check the trailer's posted temperature, look for visible filth or pest signs, and refuse the drop if the reefer was running warm in transit.

Use a calibrated thermocouple between two cases — not on the surface. TCS items above 41°F or frozen items showing thaw/refreeze ice crystals are refusal triggers under the FDA Food Code. Log readings on the receiving sheet.

Crushed cases, torn vacuum seals, swollen cans, leaking proteins, and broken pallet wrap all get pulled aside. Photograph damaged cases before the driver leaves — the credit memo depends on it.

Match line by line — item, pack size, quantity, brand. Substitutions and short-shipped cases are the most common variance drivers; flag them on the invoice before signing. Signing for 24 when the case had 22 is how shrink buries into food cost with no audit trail.

Note the refusal reason on the driver's BOL, take photos, and call your distributor rep the same day. A documented refusal is what keeps the credit from being contested later.

Color, texture, and smell — sour notes on poultry, slime on greens, off-color seafood, brown edges on lettuce. Sous reviews any borderline case before it gets put away.

Short-dated product (under 5 days for dairy, under 3 days for fresh fish) gets flagged for prioritized use or refused. Distributors will occasionally clear short-dated inventory onto a smaller customer's order.

Weigh portion-controlled cuts (8oz filets, 6oz chicken breasts) on a tared scale — a 7.5oz cut delivered as an 8oz costs the kitchen on every plate. Verify grade stamps on beef (Choice vs Prime) and species labels on seafood per the FDA Seafood List.

Walk-in should read 41°F or below; freezer 0°F or below. Log the reading on the daily temperature sheet before the case goes in — the receiving log is your defense if a pathogen incident traces back to this drop.

New cases go behind existing stock. Date-dot every case as it lands with the receiving date in marker. The most common waste driver in a tight walk-in is older product hidden behind newer.

FDA Food Code hierarchy: ready-to-eat on top, then whole seafood, whole beef/pork, ground meat, then poultry on the bottom shelf. Cross-contamination from drip is the top critical violation cited at routine health inspections.

Droppings, gnaw marks, webbing in flour or grain, dead insects on glue boards. Anything found gets logged for the pest-control vendor (Orkin, Ecolab, Rentokil) on the next visit.

Signed and dated invoice goes to the receiving binder or scanned into MarginEdge / Restaurant365 the same day. Unfiled invoices are the number-one reason food-cost variance can't be reconciled at month-end.

Shellfish tags (required to be kept 90 days under the FDA Food Code), certificates of analysis for ground beef, and country-of-origin labeling for produce. Health inspectors pull these on routine visits.

Email the rep with photos, the invoice line item, and the quantity / reason. Most distributors require credits to be opened within 48 hours of delivery; after that the chargeback dies.

Note arrival time vs. the scheduled delivery window. Chronic late drops from a primary distributor cascade into delayed prep and missed lineup.

Roll the week's receiving data into the vendor scorecard — fill rate, on-time percentage, credit-memo count, quality rejects. Review with the chef and beverage director monthly to decide which primary-vendor relationships need a conversation.