How Do You Keep Fridge Temperature Records for a Food Safety Inspection?

To keep fridge temperature records for a food safety inspection, check every fridge, freezer and display cabinet at least once a day with a calibrated probe thermometer, write down the date, time, cabinet, temperature and your initials, and note what you did whenever a reading was out of range. Keep the records for at least 3 months and have them ready to show the inspector.

This guide is for owners and managers of cafes, bakeries, butcher shops, delis, takeaways, convenience stores and supermarkets in Brisbane, Sydney and across Australia. It covers the temperature rules, who must keep records, what a good log looks like, what an inspector checks on your fridges and how the right cabinets make the job easier.

The temperature rules your records have to prove

Under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or colder, or 60°C or hotter, unless you can show it stays safe at another temperature. Frozen food should stay frozen hard, and most businesses run freezers at −18°C or colder. Potentially hazardous food includes meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, cooked rice and pasta, prepared salads, sandwiches and anything with a cream or custard filling.

Your records are the evidence that these rules were met every day, not just on the day of the inspection. For the full rules, including the 2-hour and 4-hour guide for food left out of the fridge, see our guide to what temperature a commercial fridge should be.

Who has to keep temperature records?

Since December 2023, Standard 3.2.2A of the Food Standards Code requires food service, catering and related retail businesses that handle unpackaged potentially hazardous food to use food safety management tools. Category one businesses, such as cafes, restaurants, takeaways and caterers that prepare and serve this food, must keep records for prescribed activities, including receiving, storing and displaying potentially hazardous food. Records must be kept for at least 3 months.

Category two businesses, such as a deli or convenience store that slices or serves ready-to-eat food it did not make, must have a certified food safety supervisor and trained food handlers, but the record keeping tool is not required. Many still keep a daily log, because it is the easiest way to show an inspector that cold storage is under control. Your local council can tell you which category your business is in.

What a good fridge temperature log looks like

A simple paper sheet or app works, as long as it is filled in every day. Each entry should show:
The date and time of the check.
Which cabinet was checked, using a name or number that matches a label on the cabinet.
The temperature of the food, taken with a probe thermometer, not just the number on the display.
The initials of the person who did the check.
What you did if the reading was too warm, such as moving stock, adjusting the cabinet or throwing food out.

Check at the same times each day, for example at opening and again in the afternoon when the shop is warmest. Record the temperature of chilled and frozen deliveries as they arrive too, and refuse anything that is above 5°C or not frozen.

Using a probe thermometer properly

The Food Standards Code requires a business that handles potentially hazardous food to have a thermometer accurate to within 1°C that is easy to get to. Use a clean, sanitised probe, put it into the centre of a sample product or between two packs, and wait for the reading to settle. Check the thermometer regularly against iced water, which should read 0°C, and replace it if it is out.

The display on the cabinet shows air temperature near the sensor, which can differ from the food on the front of a shelf. If the display and the probe disagree by more than a degree or two, trust the probe and find out why.

What an inspector checks on your fridges

In Queensland, food businesses are licensed and inspected by their local council under the Food Act 2006. In Brisbane, Eat Safe Brisbane audits are mandatory and give a star rating, and a business rated three stars or above can choose to display it. In New South Wales, local councils and the NSW Food Authority inspect retail food businesses. On the day, an inspector will usually:
Probe food in your display fridges, cold storage and freezers.
Ask to see your thermometer and how you use it.
Read your temperature records and ask what you did about any warm readings.
Look at door seals, ice build-up, overloaded shelves and the cleanliness of the cabinet.
Check that raw and ready-to-eat food are stored apart and covered.

Gaps in the log, made-up looking readings and no record of what was done about a problem count against you. A dirty or iced-up cabinet does too, so follow a regular routine to clean and maintain a commercial fridge.

What to do when a reading is too warm

Act straight away and write down what you did. Probe the food itself, check the door is closing and the air vents are not blocked, and move stock that sits above the load line. Food that has been above 5°C for less than 2 hours can go back into a working fridge, food that has been out for 2 to 4 hours should be used or sold straight away, and food out for longer than 4 hours should be thrown out. Keeping stock below the load line is covered in our guide on how to stock a display fridge.

If one cabinet keeps reading warm, it needs attention. A repeat fault, a cabinet that cannot hold 5°C on a hot afternoon or one that keeps icing up is a sign to call a technician, and to weigh up whether to repair or replace a commercial fridge.

Cabinets that make records easier

Stable temperatures mean fewer warm readings to explain. Cabinets that hold temperature well in a warm shop, with doors that close properly and stock kept clear of the air curtain, make the daily check routine. Chill Pro display fridges use R290 refrigerant and are rated for an operating environment of 32°C and 60% relative humidity, which suits a warm Queensland or New South Wales shop floor. For how cabinet design affects freshness, see our guide to display fridges that keep products fresh longer.

Chill Pro supplies display fridges and freezers from Brisbane and Sydney, with freight Australia-wide and a 2-year parts and labour warranty. Chill Pro Trusted Finance Partners offer competitive rates in the market — ask us about it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should you check commercial fridge temperatures?
Check every fridge, freezer and display cabinet at least once a day, and twice a day is better, for example at opening and in the warmest part of the afternoon. Record each check with the date, time, temperature and your initials.

Do food businesses in Australia have to keep temperature records?
Since December 2023, category one businesses under Standard 3.2.2A, such as cafes, restaurants, takeaways and caterers, must keep records for receiving, storing and displaying potentially hazardous food. Ask your local council which category applies to you.

How long do you need to keep fridge temperature records?
Records kept under Standard 3.2.2A must be kept for at least 3 months, and should be ready to show an inspector.

What temperature should a fridge be for a food safety inspection?
Potentially hazardous food must be held at 5°C or colder, and most freezers run at −18°C or colder. The inspector will probe the food, not just read the display.

What should you do if a fridge temperature reading is too high?
Probe the food, check the door, seals and air vents, move stock below the load line, apply the 2-hour and 4-hour guide to the food, and write down what you did. Call a technician if the cabinet keeps reading warm.

Replacing a cabinet that will not hold temperature, or fitting out a new shop? Tell us what you sell and the space you have, and get a quote for fridges and freezers delivered to your door. We are based in Queensland and New South Wales and freight Australia-wide.