Approved supplier list
The list that decides whether food can be served at all
Most food safety rules are about degrees and minutes. This one is binary: either the source is approved or the food cannot go out. Here is what that means, which sources catch people out, and what belongs in each column.
Free to build. You see the whole thing before anything is asked of you.
01The rule
Approved source is about status, not quality.
Food shall be obtained from sources that comply with law — a regulated, inspected supplier.
FDA Food Code §3-201.11
“Approved” is a regulatory word, not a compliment. It has nothing to do with how good the produce is or how long you have known the grower. It is about whether somebody inspects them.
02The trap
The romantic sources are the dangerous ones.
Nobody gets caught out buying from a national distributor. People get caught out buying from someone lovely.
The neighbour with chickens. A regular’s home-made preserves. Venison from a customer who hunts. Shellfish from a guy with a boat. Every one of those bypasses the inspection system completely — and if somebody gets ill, there is no trace back, nothing to test and nobody to notify.
Raw milk and unpasteurised juice sit in the same category for a different reason: they arrive with the pathogens already in them, and nothing a restaurant kitchen normally does removes them.
03What one looks like
Six columns, and one that does the work.
| Supplier | Products | Licence / inspection basis | Contact | Added | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northside Provisions | Produce, dairy, dry goods | State wholesale food licence #FW-20114 | Dana — 555 0142 | 4 Mar | 12 Sep |
| Harbour Shellfish Co. | Oysters, clams | Certified dealer, state shellfish list | Ops desk — 555 0198 | 4 Mar | 12 Sep |
| Ridge Farm Eggs | Shell eggs | State egg handler permit #EH-882 | Marie — 555 0177 | 18 Jun | 12 Sep |
04Shellfish
Ninety days, in order.
If you buy molluscan shellfish, there is one exact number to remember. Keep the shellstock tags for 90 days from the date the container was emptied, in chronological order.
It is an unusually precise requirement in an area full of vague ones, which is exactly why inspectors ask about it — and why the tags end up in a bin bag more often than they should.
05When something turns up unapproved
Refuse, hold, or discard.
- 1
Refuse it at the door if you can
The cheapest version of this problem is the one that never comes inside.
- 2
Already accepted? Hold it and do not serve it
Mark it clearly so nobody grabs it in a rush, and tell the person in charge.
- 3
Confirm the source — properly
Not “they seem fine”. A licence number, an inspection basis, something checkable.
- 4
If it cannot be confirmed, throw it out
There is no third option. Record the discard.
- 5
Add legitimate new suppliers before the next order
Not after. The list is supposed to be the thing you check against, which only works if it is ahead of the delivery.
06Being straight with you
Why there is no blank one here.
Why there’s no blank one to download
A blank approved supplier list is a ruled page with six headings. You could draw it on the back of an invoice in a minute.
The actual work is the licence column — finding out what each of your suppliers is licensed for and writing it down in a form that stands up when someone asks. No template does that part, and handing you an empty grid would be pretending it is the hard bit.
Building a plan walks you through your suppliers one at a time and produces the list with them in it, alongside the receiving log that checks against it.
07Getting it wrong
What an inspector notices.
The licence column is blank
Without it the list is just names. It cannot show why any of those suppliers count as approved.
A supplier on the delivery paperwork who is not on the list
It shows the list is not being used as a check, which is its only real function.
Shellfish tags binned early or out of order
Ninety days, chronological. It is specific, it is easy to check, and it is often the first thing asked.
No review dates
Licences lapse. A list that has not been looked at in two years may be describing suppliers who no longer qualify.
08Questions
The things people ask.
What does 'approved source' actually mean?
A supplier that is regulated and inspected by an authority. It is about their status, not their quality and not how much you like them. Food from an unapproved source cannot be served, which makes this one of the few genuinely binary rules in the Code [§3-201.11].
Can I use eggs from a neighbour's chickens?
No, and this is the category that catches good operators out. Home-canned goods, a friend's farm eggs, venison from a hunter, shellfish from an unlisted dealer — all of them bypass the inspection system entirely. If something goes wrong there is no way to trace it back.
What about the farmers' market?
Depends entirely on what that vendor is licensed for. Some are properly licensed producers; some are selling from a home kitchen. Ask what their licence covers and write the answer in the licence column, because that column is the whole point of the list.
How long do I keep shellfish tags?
Ninety days from the date the container was emptied, kept in chronological order. It is one of the few exact retention numbers in this whole area, and it is frequently missed.
Something arrived from a supplier who isn't on my list.
Refuse it at the door if you can. If it is already in, hold it and do not serve it until the person in charge confirms the source is approved. If that cannot be confirmed, throw it out. Then add the supplier properly before the next order rather than after.
Why can't I buy raw milk or unpasteurised juice?
Because nothing in a normal restaurant kitchen is designed to make them safe. They arrive with the pathogens still in them and no step you take removes them, so the hazard travels all the way to the plate.
Go through your suppliers once, record what each is licensed for, and the list comes out ready to check deliveries against.
It pairs with the receiving log, which is where the check actually happens at the door.