Food Receipts--how long do we have to keep them?

[Rubybaby]

Hello all!
I think I've read here somewhere that food receipts need to be kept for 3 months. Can anyone confirm that this is correct please?
I can't even close my" accounts "drawer now, and am in desperate need of immediate de-cluttering!

[MrAnchovy]

That is a common myth. You have to keep them until the food has been eaten. So if you eat stuff straight away then you can clear them out at the end of the week, but if you buy for the freezer it could be months.

[Tazmin68]

I was under impression that all receipts including food had to be kept for 6 years

[FussyElmo]

I thought you had to keep food receipts for a certain time just in case of an food poisoning outbreak. Oh course I may have dreamt this :D

[moggy]

It is about 4-6 weeks I read, until you know food has been safely eaten. If you are keeping receipts for booking purposes that is different!

[Tazmin68]

But if you are putting the food receipts through your booms ie ncma accounts book then it must be for the 5/6 years. I cannot see how you can throw those receipts away any earlier.

[bunyip]

Probably no actually need to keep food receipts for tax/accounting purposes. HMRC guidelines for CMs are to calculate the average cost of a typical meal (or the typical cost of an average meal). You're unlikely to need receipts to prove such a calculation unless you get deliveries from Fortnum & Mason and feed the tots a la mode 3 times a day!

My EHO recommended keeping food receipts for 3 months to show due diligence, and to assist in case of a food poisoning incident. Note the word "recommended" not "required".

It could also be used to show a concerned parent whether or not the lo's have been eating tesco horseburgers recently. :laughing:

[TAZ]

You need to keep the reciepts until the food has been eaten & no ill effects!! No fixed length of time therefore as you may have some tinned food in your cupboard for a year+

[Chatterbox Childcare]

That is a common myth. You have to keep them until the food has been eaten. So if you eat stuff straight away then you can clear them out at the end of the week, but if you buy for the freezer it could be months.

Sorry but this is incorrect:

1. Food Hygiene regulations state that you need to keep them for at least 3 months as food poisoning, dependant on type, can sometimes take that long to show

2. Shouldn't we keep receipts to show our food costs or how we work them out, otherwise how can we claim?

[MrAnchovy]

Not everybody does it that way bunyip, and the HMRC concession does not set out any particular way to calculate food costs. It states exactly that "Reasonable estimates for the costs of food and drink provided for the children being cared for are acceptable and receipts will not be required."

Many childminders find it easier NOT to use an estimate per meal, and instead to use the actual costs of food purchased (apportioned as necessary). In this case it is IMHO desireable to keep the receipts for six years as otherwise you have no evidence to support the figures you have used if HMRC claim they are not reasonable.

[MrAnchovy]

1. Food Hygiene regulations state that you need to keep them for at least 3 months as food poisoning, dependant on type, can sometimes take that long to show

The only reference to how long you should keep records I can see in any guidance is "Bear in mind that if a food has a long shelf life, you will need to keep the records for longer." Do you have a source for any regulations that state 3 months?


2. Shouldn't we keep receipts to show our food costs or how we work them out, otherwise how can we claim?

Yes sorry, I realise that depending on how you work out food costs you may need to keep reciepts and I hope my last post clears that up :D

[Chatterbox Childcare]

[QUOTE=MrAnchovy;1206004]The only reference to how long you should keep records I can see in any guidance is "Bear in mind that if a food has a long shelf life, you will need to keep the records for longer." Do you have a source for any regulations that state 3 months?

Yes my tutor that ran the course and she was from the council Environmental Food Agency and is an inspector