Sydney café deliveries: a pest-safe stock receiving checklist

1. Why receiving is a pest-control step

Deliveries pass through loading areas, footpaths, laneways, shared service corridors and storerooms before they reach the kitchen. Cardboard, shrink wrap, wooden pallets and reusable crates can provide short-term shelter, while leaking or damaged packaging can create food or moisture for pests. That does not mean a supplier, driver or single carton caused an infestation. It means the business should control what enters, where it waits and how quickly it is unpacked.

Keep the receiving point bright and uncluttered. Make sure staff can see the floor-wall junction, the rear-door line and the space around shelving. A clear route makes it easier to notice droppings, live insects, gnawing, damaged seals or unexplained odours before stock is distributed through the premises.

2. Inspect before stock enters the storeroom

Use the same brief check for every delivery, adapted to the business's food-safety procedures. Look at the outside of cartons, bags, crates and pallets before they are placed beside clean food or preparation equipment.

One insect on an exterior carton is a reason to record and assess the situation, not a reason to declare the premises infested. Repeated findings, multiple affected cartons or signs inside storage need a more organised response.

3. Move and store food promptly

Break down outer packaging in the designated receiving area where the business's procedures allow it, then move food into clean, dry and accessible storage. Keep stock off the floor and leave enough space to clean and inspect around shelving. Use first-in, first-out rotation so older dry goods do not remain hidden behind new deliveries.

Keep doors closed when practical, repair damaged screens and report gaps around service penetrations, shelving and pipes. Bins should be lidded, clean and positioned so they do not block delivery routes or create a sheltered edge against the building. Remove unwanted cardboard and pallets through the approved waste or supplier-return process rather than storing them in a back corridor.

Receiving staff should not apply an insecticide to food, packaging, pallets, preparation surfaces or equipment. Cleaning, separation, repairs and a documented professional plan are safer controls. Any chemical product used by an authorised professional must match the agreed site scope and its current label.

4. Record patterns, not just incidents

A simple log helps a small business distinguish a one-off observation from a repeating route. Record the date and time, delivery area, supplier or stock type, exact location, what was seen, whether packaging was damaged and what action was taken. Keep the record with the premises' existing cleaning, maintenance and pest-management documents.

Patterns are especially useful: insects appearing near the same rear door, droppings below one shelf, damaged cartons from one storage zone or activity after bins are collected. The record should describe observations rather than identify a pest with certainty. If food may be contaminated, follow the business's food-safety process and do not return questionable stock to use.

5. Coordinate follow-up without disrupting food safety

Ask for a property-specific pest assessment when signs repeat, activity is found inside storage, staff see insects during several deliveries or repairs are needed around doors, drains, walls or shelving. Share the log, photographs, floor plan if available, cleaning schedule, delivery pattern and any access restrictions. This gives the technician a better starting point than a general request to “spray the kitchen”.

Agree on treatment timing, staff instructions, food protection, access and follow-up records before work begins. Keep food, utensils, people and animals out of any area that the current product label or technician's written instructions say must be protected. A professional plan should also identify contributing maintenance issues; treatment alone cannot correct a leaking pipe, damaged door seal or unmanaged waste route.