# Food Complaint Record: free UK download

Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/templates/food-complaint-record
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11 by the Paddl team

Free food complaint record and investigation log

## In one sentence

The Food Complaint Record is a free PDF + Editable Document for UK food businesses with one record sheet: complaint detail (date, customer, dish, nature of complaint), severity flag for illness or allergic reaction, investigation steps and findings. Download it, print it or fill it in, and keep it with your food safety records; Paddl keeps the same records on a phone with timestamps and reminders.

How you handle a food complaint matters as much as the complaint itself, especially when it involves illness or an allergic reaction. This free record gives you a structured way to log each complaint, investigate it, decide what went wrong, and record the action you took, which protects your customers and gives you the evidence you need if the complaint escalates.

## Why you need it

- A documented complaint process is part of acting with due diligence
- Allergic reaction and food poisoning complaints need a careful, recorded investigation
- A written outcome protects the business if a complaint becomes a formal claim
- Patterns across complaints point straight to the process that needs fixing
- EHO officers may ask how you handle and learn from customer complaints

## What is included

- Complaint detail (date, customer, dish, nature of complaint)
- Severity flag for illness or allergic reaction
- Investigation steps and findings
- Root cause and whether the complaint was upheld
- Corrective action and follow-up
- Customer response and resolution
- Investigator name and sign-off

## Record sheets

- **Food Complaint Record**: columns Field, Details

## How to use it

1. **Log every complaint** Record the date, the dish, and exactly what the customer said, including any mention of illness or an allergic reaction.
2. **Investigate the facts** Trace the batch, check the records, and speak to the staff involved, writing down what you find.
3. **Decide and act** Identify the likely cause, decide whether the complaint stands, and put a corrective action in place.
4. **Close the loop** Record how you responded to the customer and sign off the investigation, then review for any wider pattern.

## Tips

- Treat any allergic reaction or illness complaint as serious and investigate it the same day
- Keep batch records and use-by labels, because they are what let you trace a complaint
- Be factual in the record and avoid admitting liability before you have investigated
- Look across complaints monthly, because three small ones can reveal one real problem
- Paddl can log complaints, link them to the dish and batch, and track the corrective action

Download the file from https://paddl-ai.co/templates/food-complaint-record (email required). The Paddl features that keep the same records: https://paddl-ai.co/features/complaints, https://paddl-ai.co/features/compliance, https://paddl-ai.co/features/allergens, https://paddl-ai.co/features/documents.