Most places keep the write-off log for accounting and audit, and it records only quantity. Unless it says which product was thrown away and why, the same waste repeats every month.
| Column | What goes in | What it separates |
|---|---|---|
| Reason | out of date, damage, temperature deviation, returned from display, over-ordered | ordering plan or equipment |
| Stage | at delivery, in the back, on the shelf | where the loss happens |
| Temperature | only for deviation cases, the ID of the measurement record | the preventable part |
Waste from expiry belongs to the ordering plan; waste from a temperature deviation belongs to equipment and flow. Added up on one line, neither can be fixed. Separated, the temperature line looks small, but it is the part that repeats and can be prevented.
The list is read weekly, because a monthly report arrives too late. When the same product, the same day and the same aisle coincide, the cause is not demand. Heavy delivery and temperature lines point to closed containers, plate count and delivery sequence; heavy shelf and expiry lines point to ordering and rotation.
Part of what is about to be thrown out may qualify for markdown, staff consumption or donation. Writing those limits in advance eases the evening decision; saleability is set by the product instructions and the business's food-safety plan, not by appearance, and the person who decides is named in the record.
