--- title: "Delivery Order Packing & Seal Checklist" canonical: "https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/ghost-kitchen-order-packing-checklist/" --- > Source: https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/ghost-kitchen-order-packing-checklist/ [Checklists](/checklists/) / [Ghost Kitchen & Dark Kitchen](/checklists/ghost-kitchens/) / Packing Orders, Labels & Tamper Seals # Ghost Kitchen & Dark Kitchen Order Packing, Labelling & Tamper Seal Checklist The packing bench is where a Ghost Kitchen & Dark Kitchen wins or loses its margin: **read the ticket back against an open bag, label it, sticker the allergen information onto the food, then seal every opening**. These 9 checks cover accuracy, labelling and seal integrity. Each check ties to published evidence. The nearest audited accuracy benchmark is convenience-store orders in 600 mystery-shopped third-party deliveries, at 82%. DoorDash charges merchants 25% to 100% of item price plus tax for order errors. Only 47% of allergic customers ordering remotely received written allergen information at all. [Run this checklist - free](/run/ghost-kitchens/?list=packing) [Download PDF](/checklists/pdf/peakscale-ghost-kitchens-checklists.pdf)[Download Excel](/checklists/excel/peakscale-ghost-kitchens-checklists.xlsx) The checklist ยท 9 checks ### Get the order right before it is sealed **1\. Read the ticket against the bag out loud, item by item, before you seal it** The closest audited figure comes from 600 mystery-shopped delivery orders at convenience stores: 82% accuracy. That means about one order in five was wrong. No such figure exists for delivery-only kitchens. Accurate orders scored 45 points higher on customer satisfaction. **2\. Check every extra, swap and 'no X' request against the actual container** Extras and swaps are where mistakes happen most. The item may be right, but the order is wrong, and the customer still counts it as a wrong order. **3\. Count cutlery, sauces, sides, drinks and dips by hand against the ticket** A missing dip can bring an error charge of up to 100% of the item price plus tax, and it costs you the repeat order. 20% of customers who got a wrong order say they would not order from that restaurant again. **4\. Pack one order at a time. Never build two brands' bags side by side on the same bench.** No study publishes error rates by bench layout or by single- versus multi-packer work (evidence gap 3), so this is a safeguard, not a proven cause. Still, with only one bag open at a time, a swapped item has nowhere to go. Your own error log will show the value of this. ### Label so the right bag reaches the right customer **5\. Label every bag with the order ID, brand name and item count before it leaves the bench** Couriers often collect several brands from one address. An unlabeled bag is a wrong delivery that you cannot trace or dispute. **6\. Attach written allergen information to the food itself, using a sticker or label, not just the receipt** Only 47% of customers with allergies who ordered remotely got any written allergen information. A sticker on the box is what closes that gap. **7\. Pack allergen and free-from orders last, from the clean zone, and flag the bag** In one sensor study, gluten test results were higher later in the day: 27% at breakfast, 34% at dinner. The cause was not tested, and the menu mix was not ruled out. Either way, a free-from order needs a clean surface, not a busy one. ### Seal it, split it, log it **8\. Put a tamper-evident seal across every opening on every bag. Do this even for 'quick' orders.** 28% of drivers admit to taking food from an order, and 85% of customers want tamper-resistant labels. In some places, the seal is required by law. **9\. Put hot and cold items in separate bags. Log every packing error, remake and its cause, by brand.** Cold drinks ruin hot food, and an error that is not logged will keep happening. The log is also your only defence if an error charge is challenged. On DoorDash, you can only dispute this yourself for deliveries from the last 14 days. ## Frequently asked questions **How accurate are third-party delivery orders, and what does an error cost?** The nearest independently audited figure is 82%. But read it carefully. That is convenience-store order accuracy across 600 mystery-shopped third-party delivery orders in 2025, up from 77% in 2024, from a study titled 'C-Stores Narrow the Gap with Restaurants'. No accuracy or packing-error rate is published for restaurants specifically or for delivery-only kitchens. Even at that benchmark, roughly one order in five was still wrong under audit conditions. Accurate orders scored 45 percentage points higher on customer satisfaction. The cost lands in two places. DoorDash Order Error Adjustments charge merchants 25% to 100% of the applicable item price plus tax, with a wholly wrong order charged at 100% of order subtotal plus tax. Separately, 63% of US consumers report at least one incorrect delivery order since 2021. Of those, 24% requested a refund, 20% would not reorder from the restaurant, and 17% posted a negative review. **Does allergen information need to be on the packaging or just the receipt?** On the food itself. Among food-hypersensitive consumers who had ordered via distance selling (n=204), only 47% received written allergen information at all. Of the 98 who told the business about their requirement when ordering, only 18% received written confirmation as a label, flag or sticker on the food. Businesses think they are doing better. 88% of takeaway operators said they provide written allergen information, and 50% said they sticker the food. That is exactly the gap a packing check closes. The cost of getting it wrong is real. One operator was fined GBP 369 with GBP 1,000 costs after a curry sold as allergen-free was found to contain in the region of 3% peanuts. **Why does every delivery bag need a tamper-evident seal?** Because the bag leaves your control the moment it goes on the handoff shelf. Self-reported driver behaviour is not reassuring. A 2019 US Foods survey found 28% of delivery drivers acknowledged taking food from an order. 85% of consumers said they wanted restaurants to use tamper-resistant labels. In California, tamper-evident packaging for third-party restaurant deliveries has been a legal requirement since 2021. A higher 79% figure from a 2022 vendor survey circulates widely. It has no disclosed sample or method, so treat it as a rough guide. The 28% is the number to plan against. ## More Ghost Kitchen & Dark Kitchen checklists [Receiving Goods, Packaging & Seal Supplies](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-goods-in-checklist/)[Opening - Stations, Online Storefronts & Menu Launch](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-opening-checklist/)[Courier Handoff & Pickup-Time Promise (SLA)](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-courier-handoff-checklist/)[Keeping Food Hot, Cold & at the Right Temperature for Delivery](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-food-temperature-checklist/)[Closing - Complaints, Ratings & Tomorrow's Menu](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-closing-checklist/)[Weekly Checks](/checklists/ghost-kitchen-weekly-checklist/) One free app has all of them: [open the Ghost Kitchen & Dark Kitchen Checklists app](/run/ghost-kitchens/) - offline, no account, add it to your home screen. ## Sources Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data: - [Intouch Insight 2025 Third-Party Delivery Study](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intouch-insight-study-c-stores-narrow-the-gap-with-restaurants-for-key-metrics-in-third-party-delivery-study-302555812.html) - [Restaurant Dive on eduMe survey](https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/study-diners-are-dependent-on-food-delivery-but-are-sensitive-to-order-inaccuracies/623372/) - [FSA - Allergen information for non-prepacked foods: key findings](https://science.food.gov.uk/article/142304-allergen-information-for-non-prepacked-foods-key-findings-from-consumers-and-food-service-workers) - [DoorDash Merchant Help - What are Order Error Adjustments?](https://help.doordash.com/en-us/merchants/article/what-are-order-error-adjustments) - [Intouch Insight - KPIs for online food delivery](https://www.intouchinsight.com/blog/kpis-for-online-food-delivery) - [Intouch Insight press release, 18 Sep 2024](https://www.intouchinsight.com/press-releases/doordash-leads-thirdparty-delivery) - [DoorDash Merchant Learning Center - How to reduce avoidable Dasher wait time](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/learning-center/avoidable-wait) - [Lebwohl et al., Am J Gastroenterology 2019](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190405170447.htm) - [Retail Brew on US Foods](https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2023/02/15/many-delivery-drivers-admit-to-taking-food-from-orders-and-tamper-evident-packaging-could-keep-them-out-of-the-chicken-nuggets) - [Otter data release via Business Wire](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240311195405/en/Mexico-Restaurants-Lose-up-to-4-of-Their-Online-Orders-Due-to-Cancellations) - [Foods](https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/15/2605) - [Restaurant Dive](https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/reefs-ghost-kitchen-expansion-mired-in-permit-health-inspection-infractio/610853/) - [Nation's Restaurant News](https://www.nrn.com/delivery-takeout-solutions/uber-eats-has-already-removed-8000-virtual-restaurants-its-system-amid) - [Luca, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue](https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/12-016_a7e4a5a2-03f9-490d-b093-8f951238dba2.pdf) - [Lincolnshire County Council trading standards](https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/132/indian-restaurant-fined-for-selling-allergen-free-curry-containing-peanuts) - [FSA - Consumer needs and food hygiene ratings online](https://science.food.gov.uk/article/123520-understanding-consumer-needs-in-relation-to-food-hygiene-ratings-in-an-online-food-ordering-environment) - [Sheffield Hallam University](https://www.shu.ac.uk/news/all-articles/latest-news/dark-kitchens-2) - [NC State study via Quality Assurance & Food Safety](https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/news/many-meal-kit-deliveries-contain-perishable-food-items-above-the-recommended-temperature/) - [FSA sampling survey via Food Safety News](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/07/fsa-survey-reveals-authenticity-and-allergen-problems/) - [DoorDash merchant blog](https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/blog/how-to-increase-restaurant-sales) - [University of Sheffield / NIHR research via PA](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dark-kitchens-represent-15-uk-135019717.html) - ['Going dark or under the radar?', Food Control 2025, via Food Safety News](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/02/study-assesses-food-safety-challenges-with-dark-kitchens/)