Labelling mistakes in the kitchen: common mistakes and how to avoid them
Most labelling mistakes don't happen because a kitchen isn’t well-managed, they happen because we’re all human, and on a busy Saturday, when the pass is full, someone's off sick and the walk-in needs restocking before the next wave, it’s normal for things to slip.
When things do start to slip, labelling tends to be one of the first to go, so here are the mistakes we see most often, and what you can do about them.
The guessed use-by date
When your team handwrites labels, it probably looks something like this: a chef preps a batch of sauce, grabs a pen and works out the date in their head. Most of the time it's right. Occasionally it's a day out, and whilst one day doesn’t seem like a lot, it means the label is non-compliant and the food is unsafe. Agree shelf lives for every product as a team, write them down somewhere everyone can see, and stop relying on memory.
2. Illegible handwriting
A label nobody can read does about as much good as no label at all. Smudged ink on a cold, wet tub, a 1 that looks like a 7, initials that could belong to anyone. If a label can't be read at a glance by someone who didn't write it, it needs redoing.
3. Labelling over old labels
This causes more trouble than people expect. Sticking a fresh label on top of an old one leaves two dates on one container, and someone will eventually read the wrong one. Peel the old label off or swap the container.
4. Decanted and part-used stock
Another blind spot... when you open a bag of flour and tip it into a tub, the original packaging with all its information goes in the bin. Anything that leaves its original packaging needs a label straight away.
5. Incorrect or missing allergens on PPDS food
Under Natasha's Law, prepacked for direct sale items need a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised. A recipe tweak that never makes it onto the label is a real risk to a customer. Whenever a recipe changes, update the label at the same time.
6. Inconsistency between shifts
If the morning team labels one way and the evening team another, mistakes creep in during the handover. Pick one format or system and stick to it.
Most of these come down to the same thing: people doing a manual job under pressure. That's why we built Labl.it. Products, shelf lives and allergens are set up once, and labels print in a few clicks, three times faster than handwriting. It doesn't mean mistakes are impossible, but it does mean that they’re far less likely.
If you want to see how it fits in your kitchen, you can try Labl.it free for 14 days.
