R638 records and your Certificate of Acceptability, inspection-ready.
R638 under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 is not optional, and the Environmental Health Practitioner does not phone ahead. This plan keeps every hygiene record they can ask for one search away.
ASCloud keeps the hygiene records R638 of 2018, under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972, requires for a Certificate of Acceptability, ready for an Environmental Health Practitioner who does not phone ahead. The R638 plan costs R499 per site per month excluding VAT, with two named users and a R3,850 once-off setup, as at September 2026.
From application to inspection, step by step
What R638 asks of a food premises, and what ASCloud keeps ready for the inspector.
- 1Certificate of AcceptabilityRegulation 3
Issued by your local authority. No food may be handled without it.
- 2Premises and facilitiesStructure and equipment
Maintenance and cleaning schedules on record.
- 3Person in chargeTrained and on site
Training records and certificates in one place.
- 4Daily hygiene recordsTemperatures, cleaning, pests
Checked on a phone, time-stamped, signed by name.
- 5InspectionEnvironmental health practitioner
Records found in seconds, not in a lever arch file.
Regulation 3(1)(a) prohibits handling food without one.
The person in charge must be trained, and able to show it.
After an outbreak, records are the first thing asked for.
Built for the municipal inspection
- Certificate of Acceptability readiness file, always current
- Daily hygiene checklists: cleaning, temperatures, pest, waste, personal hygiene
- Staff hygiene training records with sign-off
- Supplier and receiving records
- Corrective actions with photo evidence
- Works offline during load shedding, syncs when power returns
When a retailer asks for more, your records come with you
A site that runs R638 properly has already built a third of the prerequisite layer to step up to HACCP and GFSI. On this platform that is literal: upgrade to the HACCP or GFSI plan and every record, register and training log you have built moves with you. Moving up a rung never restarts setup, and you pay only the new monthly rate.
Three ways to start
One site, 2 named users, R638 and CoA records ready for the inspector.
Upgrade without re-implementation when a buyer asks for HACCP.
Online on ascfoodsafetytraining.com, with a QR-verifiable certificate.
Prices per site per month, excluding VAT, invoiced in rand. Build your full package to see the first-year cost in your currency.
What the environmental health practitioner asks to see
- A valid Certificate of Acceptability
- Person in charge training records
- Food handler training and health records
- Temperature control records
- Cleaning schedules and records
- Pest control records
- Water and waste management
- Premises and equipment maintenance
Every one of these lives in ASCloud, dated, signed by a named person and found in one search.
Configured by the people who sit in the audits
ASCloud is set up by ASC Food Safety Consultants, led by founder Mthokozisi Nkosi, with a team that includes more than one lead auditor. The same specialists who prepare South African sites for certification load your standard, your documents and your checklists.
- FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Lead Auditor
- Registered lead auditor with Exemplar Global and IRCA
- SAATCA-registered R638:2018 Lead Implementer (RG003)
- HPCSA-registered Environmental Health Practitioner
- MSc International Public Health, MSc Data Science, MBA, BSc (Agriculture) Food Science and Technology
- Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year, 2022
366+ Google reviews across the Gqeberha, Johannesburg and Cape Town offices. Award source: Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
Guides, courses and toolkits from ASC
Group dashboard across sites, per-site pricing in writing, and team training on ascfoodsafetytraining.com with a manager dashboard.
Questions we get asked
What is the R638 plan?
R638 and Certificate of Acceptability records for one site with two named users: temperature control, cleaning, pest control, training and premises records, ready for the Environmental Health Practitioner, from R499 per site per month excluding VAT with a R3,850 once-off setup.
Who issues the Certificate of Acceptability?
Your local authority, under regulation 3 of R638 of 2018, after an inspection by an Environmental Health Practitioner. ASCloud holds the records the inspection checks.
Does the plan include training records?
Yes. Person in charge and food handler training certificates are stored against each person, with expiry dates that alert you before they lapse.
Can a kitchen upgrade to HACCP later?
Yes. The R638 plan is the first rung of the same system, and moving to HACCP or GFSI Global Markets keeps your records and users.
Reviewed by Mthokozisi Nkosi, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Lead Auditor and founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated 3 October 2026.
The record exists. Now it can be found.
Twenty minutes online, your standard loaded before the call, your own last audit findings shown inside the system. Setup by lead auditors, live in five working days, with every price published before you commit.