Day Dots and HACCP Food Rotation Labels: A Kitchen Guide
The DiscountTillRolls.ie TeamFood rotation labels show when food was prepared or opened, so staff use the oldest first and bin anything past its date. The two common types are day dots, small coloured stickers where each colour stands for a day of the week, and prep labels, which carry the product name, prep date, use-by date and the initials of whoever made it. Both support the "first in, first out" rule that sits at the heart of a HACCP food safety system.
Which one suits you depends on how much food you prep and how busy the kitchen is. Here is how each works.
In this guide
- Why do kitchens label food?
- How do day dots work?
- What goes on a prep label?
- Day dots or prep labels: which should I use?
- How do I set up a rotation system?
- FAQ
Why do kitchens label food?
Every food business in Ireland needs a food safety management system based on HACCP principles. Part of that is knowing how old every container in your fridge is. Without labels, staff guess, and guesses lead to two expensive outcomes: good food binned too early, or old food served too late.
Labels also make inspections easier. An inspector who opens a fridge and finds every tub clearly dated sees a kitchen that is in control.
How do day dots work?
Day dots are small round stickers, one colour for each day of the week. When food is prepped or opened, it gets the dot for that day. Anyone in the kitchen can then see at a glance how old something is, without reading a word.
- Pros: very fast, work for staff whose first language is not English, and easy to check across a whole fridge.
- Cons: they only show the day, not the use-by date, the product or who made it. After a week the colours repeat, so they rely on a short shelf life.
Colour schemes vary between suppliers, so choose one and put a colour chart on the wall of every prep area and walk-in fridge.
What goes on a prep label?
A good prep label answers every question someone might have about that container:
- Product name, for example "Chicken stock" or "Coleslaw"
- Date and time prepared or opened
- Use-by date, based on your own shelf life rules
- Initials of the person who made it
- Allergens, if the item goes into dishes or out to customers
You can handwrite prep labels, but a small label printer saves time and removes the "I can't read this" problem. Our allergen labelling guide covers what customers need to see.
1,000 labels per roll for Brother QL printers. Minimum 2 rolls.
Day dots or prep labels: which should I use?
| Day dots | Prep labels | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Fastest | Slower, faster with a printer |
| Shows | Day only | Product, dates, initials, allergens |
| Best for | Fast-moving prep used within days | Longer shelf life, frozen items, allergen-sensitive prep |
| Inspection | Good with a colour chart on the wall | Clearest record |
Many kitchens use both: day dots on fast-moving sauces and garnishes, full prep labels on batch cooking, frozen stock and anything with allergens.
How do I set up a food rotation system?
- Set shelf life rules for every prepped item, in writing, as part of your HACCP plan.
- Label at the moment of prep, not later. Keep labels and a marker at every station.
- New stock goes to the back, old stock to the front. First in, first out.
- Check dates at every shift change and bin anything past its use-by.
- Use removable labels on reusable containers so they wash off cleanly and do not leave sticky residue that harbours bacteria.
For dry stores and front-of-house stock, a double line price gun is a cheap way to date-code items: one line for the price or code, one line for the date. See our price gun labels guide.
Two lines for a code and a date, in high-visibility orange.
Frequently asked questions
What are day dots used for?
Day dots are coloured stickers that show which day food was prepared or opened, so staff can rotate stock and use the oldest first.
What should a food prep label include?
Product name, date prepared or opened, use-by date, the initials of the person who made it, and allergens where relevant.
Is food labelling part of HACCP?
Yes. Dating prepped and opened food is a practical part of the food safety management system every Irish food business needs.
Are day dots enough on their own?
For fast-moving items used within a few days, often yes. For longer shelf life, frozen food or allergen-sensitive prep, a full prep label is clearer.
Keep every tub dated.
Food labels and label printer supplies, dispatched same day from Dublin 12 when you order before 1pm.
Shop Brother labels →General information only. Your own HACCP plan sets your shelf life rules.