--- title: "Sandwich Shop & Deli Checklists (Free)" canonical: "https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/sandwiches-delis/" --- > Source: https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/sandwiches-delis/ [Checklists](/checklists/) / Sandwich Shop & Deli # Sandwich Shop & Deli Checklists Seven free Sandwich Shop & Deli checklists covering the whole day - goods-in, opening and the cold line, the slicer and cross-contact, date marking and shelf life, making food to match the time of day and the grab-and-go case, and closing with the unsold count. 49 of the 61 checks are backed by published data: FDA's 397-collection deli-department study, CDC's 298-deli slicer cleaning survey, the FDA/FSIS listeria risk assessment for retail-sliced deli meat, and FSAI's 948-sample pre-packed sandwich survey. Where no data exists - how temperatures vary in prep wells, waste rates for made-fresh compared with pre-packed food, and how often condiments are checked for using the oldest stock first (FIFO) - we say so, and the checklist generates it for you. [Open the free app](/run/sandwiches-delis/) [Download PDF](/checklists/pdf/peakscale-sandwiches-delis-checklists.pdf)[Download Excel](/checklists/excel/peakscale-sandwiches-delis-checklists.xlsx) [**Goods-In & Receiving** Every discard and every midday sell-out starts at the door. Accept only stock that arrives cold, dated and countable. · 7 checks](/checklists/sandwich-shop-receiving-checklist/)[**Opening & Cold Line Set-Up** Cold before you build. Probe the product, clear the discard list, then set the line and the case up to sell. · 13 checks](/checklists/sandwich-shop-opening-checklist/)[**Slicer, Boards & Cross-Contact** The slicer touches almost every ready-to-eat item you sell. Four-hour clock, damage check, sanitiser you have actually tested. · 8 checks](/checklists/deli-slicer-cleaning-checklist/)[**Date Marking, Rotation & Shelf Life** Every opened pack gets a clock. Made-fresh and pre-packed get different clocks. Condiments get one too. · 8 checks](/checklists/deli-date-marking-checklist/)[**Day-Part Production & Grab-and-Go** Prep to the next two hours, not to fill the case at open. Keep the case full, cold and dated, and get value back before you bin it. · 9 checks](/checklists/sandwich-prep-production-checklist/)[**Closing, Waste & Overnight Cold Chain** Capture the numbers, break the line down properly, and keep everything cold (cold chain) overnight. Fridges stay ON. · 9 checks](/checklists/sandwich-shop-closing-checklist/) ## The five rules that protect profit **1\. Cold line first** Probe and log every well, fridge and case at 0–5°C (32–41°F) before a single sandwich is built. Nothing gets made off a unit you haven't read. **2\. Dated or it doesn't go on the line** Every opened pack, decanted condiment and prep container carries an opened date and a discard date. No date means no defensible shelf life - it's a discard, not a judgement call. **3\. Four hours on the slicer** Full break-down clean, sanitise and damage check every four hours of use - the US FDA Food Code interval, and a sound default wherever you trade - and again on every allergen or species change. The blade touches almost everything you sell. **4\. Build to match the time of day** Prep to the next two hours of demand and hold stock back for later. The batch you make at open to fill the case is the batch you bin at close. **5\. Log unsold by filling, or make it again tomorrow** Unsold counted by filling and by time of day is the only number that changes tomorrow's prep sheet. What isn't measured gets over-prepped again. ## Sources Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data: - [FDA Retail Delis 2015–2016](https://www.fda.gov/media/148247/download?attachment) - [CDC EHS-Net, Retail Delis practice summaries](https://www.cdc.gov/restaurant-food-safety/php/practices/retail-delis.html) - [CIDRAP report on FDA risk factor study](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/foodborne-disease/disease-hazards-common-food-operations-fda-says) - [FDA Trend Analysis Report](https://www.fda.gov/media/157225/download) - [FDA Food Code 3-501.17, Date Marking](https://www.fda.gov/media/127796/download) - [CDC MMWR, Retail Deli Slicer Cleaning Frequency](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6512a2.htm) - [FDA/FSIS Comparative Risk Assessment, Lm in RTE Deli Meats](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2020-07/Comparative_RA_Lm_Exec_Summ_May2010.pdf) - [FSAI, Microbiological Safety of Pre-Packaged Sandwiches](https://www.fsai.ie/getmedia/efcf5ec9-2b81-45dc-835c-7a28a2887f16/prepackaged_sandwiches.aspx?ext=.pdf) - [Champions 12.3, The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Restaurants](https://champions123.org/publication/business-case-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-restaurants) - [ReFED Fact Sheet: Food Waste by Sector - Retail](https://refed.org/uploads/by-sector-retail.pdf) - [Harrison, Peters & Fielding, J Appl Microbiol 2000](https://agris.fao.org/search/en/records/65dfa7130f3e94b9e5daeb5e) - [Purdue University release on Simmons/Oliver retail deli Listeria studies](https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/archive/releases/2015/Q1/study-listeria-pathogen-is-prevalent,-persistent-in-retail-delis.html) - [Chilled Food Association, The 10 Day Rule for Shelf Life](https://www.chilledfood.org/the-10-day-rule-for-shelf-life/) - [CDC Vital Signs: Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks](https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/norovirus/) - [Hong Kong CFS, Microbiological Quality of Higher Risk Buns and Sandwiches](https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fm_01_18.html) - [EFSA/ECDC EU One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report](https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/plain-language-summary/european-union-one-health-2024-zoonoses-report) - [Bartsch et al., Public Health Reports 2018, via Johns Hopkins BSPH](https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2018/a-foodborne-illness-outbreak-could-cost-a-restaurant-millions-study-suggests) - [IGA, 4 Ways To Reduce Deli Shrink](https://www.iga.com/insights/4-ways-to-reduce-deli-shrink)