First aid kit checklist and restock log for restaurants (free)

Knives, ovens, steam wands, fryers, box cutters, wet floors: kitchens hurt people, mostly in small ways. A small cut or burn becomes a bigger problem when the kit has no bandages left, nobody knows where it is, or the cook goes back to slicing tomatoes with a bandage and no glove.

This post covers what the rules say, a fill-in contents list, where to keep the kit, what to do when someone cuts themselves during prep, and two short logs: a monthly check and a record of every time the kit is used.

General information, not legal advice or medical advice. For anything more than a minor injury, call 911. Your state may have its own workplace safety plan with additional rules.

What the rules say

OSHA: supplies, and someone trained. "In the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace which is used for the treatment of all injured employees, a person or persons shall be adequately trained to render first aid. Adequate first aid supplies shall be readily available" (29 CFR 1910.151(b)). The rule doesn't define "near proximity". If you're unsure, have someone trained in first aid on every shift.

OSHA: eyewash where there are corrosive chemicals. "Where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use" (1910.151(c)). Some oven, grill and drain cleaners and dish machine detergents are corrosive. Check Section 2 of each product's safety data sheet; our chemical inventory and SDS binder index lists them.

OSHA's appendix on kit contents (not mandatory) points to a standard: "An example of the minimal contents of a generic first aid kit is described in American National Standard (ANSI) Z308.1-1998 'Minimum Requirements for Workplace First-aid Kits.'" It also says employers "should assess the specific needs of their worksite periodically and augment the first aid kit appropriately", and where staff may be exposed to blood while giving first aid, employers "are required to provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)" (Appendix A to 1910.151). A kit labeled as meeting ANSI Z308.1 is a good base; then add what a kitchen needs.

The Food Code: where the kit lives. First aid supplies for employees must be "Labeled as specified under § 7-101.11" and "Stored in a kit or a container that is located to prevent the contamination of FOOD, EQUIPMENT, UTENSILS, and LINENS, and SINGLE-SERVICE and SINGLE-USE ARTICLES" (§7-208.11, FDA Food Code 2022, checked against the 2026 edition).

The Food Code: bandages on food handlers. "If used, an impermeable cover such as a bandage, finger cot or finger stall located on the wrist, hand or finger of a FOOD EMPLOYEE working with exposed FOOD shall be covered with a single-use glove" (§2-401.13).

The kit: a fill-in contents list

The pars below are examples for one small location; set your own and adjust after a few months of the use log.

Item	Why a kitchen needs it	Par (example)
Adhesive bandages, assorted, brightly colored	Small cuts; a bright color is easy to spot if one falls off	50
Finger cots	Over a bandaged finger, under a glove	25
Single-use gloves (nitrile)	Over the bandage (§2-401.13), and for the person giving first aid	2 boxes nearby
Sterile gauze pads	Bigger cuts	10
Roller bandage and adhesive tape	Holding gauze in place	2 each
Antiseptic wipes	Cleaning around a wound	20
Burn dressing (gel type)	Small burns from ovens, steam and hot pans	4
Cold packs (instant)	Bumps, strains	2
Eye wash (sterile bottle), plus a plumbed or self-contained station if the SDS calls for one	Splashes	2 bottles
Scissors and tweezers	Cutting tape, removing splinters	1 each
CPR face shield	Rescue breathing	1
Kit contents list and this page's use log	Restocking	1

Leave out medicines unless you've decided how to handle them: the Food Code lets only medicines "necessary for the health of EMPLOYEES" into a food establishment, labeled and stored away from food (§7-207.11). Employees keep their own.

Where to keep it

One spot, the same at every location, close to the kitchen but not on a prep shelf or above food: the office doorway, a hook by the staff restroom.
Labeled "First aid" on the outside, so a new hire can find it in seconds.
A second, smaller kit in the catering bag or the truck, if you cook off-site.
The eyewash within the work area where the corrosive chemical is used, not locked in the office.
Shown on day one, along with the exits and the extinguishers, in your orientation checklist. Your emergency action plan names who's trained.

When someone cuts themselves during prep

Stop and step away from the cutting board.
First aid: the trained person puts on gloves, cleans and covers the cut. For deep cuts or bleeding that won't stop, call 911.
Throw out the food. "FOOD that is contaminated by FOOD EMPLOYEES, CONSUMERS, or other PERSONS through contact with their hands, bodily discharges, such as nasal or oral discharges, or other means shall be discarded" (§3-701.11(D)). Anything with blood on it goes in the bin and on the waste log.
Clean and sanitize the board, knife and surface.
Back to work only with the cut covered: bandage, finger cot, glove (§2-401.13). If it keeps bleeding through, move them to a job away from exposed food.
Write it down in the use log below, and fill in an incident report for anything beyond a small cut.

The monthly check

Month	Kit sealed or complete?	Items below par	Expired items removed	Eyewash checked per the maker's instructions	Restocked on	Initials
	Yes / No			Yes / No / None
	Yes / No			Yes / No / None

Check the dates on the sterile items, burn gel and eyewash bottles. Order what's short the same day.

The use log

Every time the kit is opened, one line. This is what tells you which pars are wrong, and which station keeps cutting people.

Date and time	Who was hurt (employee or guest)	What happened, briefly	Where	Supplies used	Food thrown out?	Incident report?	Restocked?
					Yes / No	Yes / No	Yes / No
					Yes / No	Yes / No	Yes / No

Look at it at your monthly check. Five cuts at the same slicer in a month is a training or equipment problem, not bad luck.

Who's trained

Name	Training (first aid, CPR, AED)	Card expires	Works which shifts

Then check the schedule: every shift should have at least one name from this list on it.

Where Mays fits

The monthly check as a checklist. A Monthly template with Checkbox items for each kit check and a Photo of the open kit. See Creating a checklist template and Scheduling checklists.
The use log as a form. An admin builds a First aid used form under Tasks → Types with Date / time, Employee, Text and Yes / No fields; a manager starts it from the template when the kit is used. See Building custom forms.
First aid and CPR cards. With Labor law compliance on, add each card on the person's Certificates tab as type Other, with its expiry date. Mays reminds the person and their managers 30 days and 7 days before it expires, and on the day. See Food safety certificates.
Injuries in the record. Post them in the Logbook under Health & Safety or Staff. See The manager logbook.
The procedure where staff can read it. The cut-during-prep steps in the Knowledge Base. See Knowledge base basics.

What Mays doesn't do: staff can't start the use-log form on their own, and a first aid card doesn't count toward coverage on the schedule, so check the trained list against the week yourself.

A kit someone can find, and someone who can use it

Stock it, keep it in one labeled spot away from food, check it monthly, log every use, and make sure every shift has someone trained. Then the small injuries stay small.

Start your free trial: 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or book a walkthrough and we'll set it up with you.