Fridge temperature log: what to record, how often, and what to do when it's too warm

Keeping chilled food cold is one of the simplest ways to stop food poisoning, and a tidy temperature log is one of the first things an environmental health officer asks to see. Here is what the law says, how often to check and what a good record looks like.

Updated 9 October 2026 · DeskKit Tools, Belfast

The legal limit in Northern Ireland: 8°C

Under the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, food that needs to be kept chilled must be held at 8°C or below, with a few narrow exceptions. The Food Standards Agency recommends setting fridges and chilled display units at 5°C or below, so that food stays under 8°C even when the door is opened a lot or a delivery goes in.

For freezers, the FSA describes commercial freezer temperatures as around minus 18°C to minus 21°C. Hot food that is kept hot for service must be held at 63°C or above.

How often should you check?

The FSA's Safe Catering pack, the food safety management system most small caterers in Northern Ireland use, recommends checking fridge temperatures at least once a day. Many businesses check twice: once when they open and once mid-afternoon or at close. Checking twice catches a fridge that is struggling during the busiest part of the day.

Check chilled display units at least daily too, and check more often in hot weather or if a unit has had problems.

What to write down

A good fridge temperature log has one line per check, with:

• the date and time
• which unit (name each fridge, for example "Kitchen fridge 1", "Drinks fridge", "Display counter")
• the temperature reading
• whether it is within the safe range
• what you did if it wasn't (the corrective action)
• the initials of the person who checked

Here is a simple layout you can copy into a notebook or spreadsheet:

Safe Catering includes ready-made recording forms for this, and you can use them as they are. The important thing is that the record is filled in honestly, at the time, every day.

Display temperature or a probe thermometer?

Most commercial fridges have a digital display. It is fine to read that, but check now and then that it matches reality. Put a fridge thermometer inside, or probe a sample item such as a bottle of water kept on a shelf, and compare. If the display says 3°C and the food is at 7°C, the display is no use as a record.

Check your probe thermometer regularly as well. A common check is to put the probe in iced water, where it should read close to 0°C, and in boiling water, where it should read close to 100°C. Note the result in your log.

What to do when a fridge is too warm

1. Check again. Readings jump just after a delivery or a busy spell. Close the door, wait 30 minutes and recheck.
2. Probe the food. The air temperature matters less than the food itself. If food is above 8°C, decide what to do with it straight away.
3. Move the food to another fridge that is working properly, if the food is still safe.
4. Throw away food that you can't be sure is safe, especially high-risk ready-to-eat foods such as cooked meats, dairy desserts and prepared salads. Your Safe Catering plan should say what your rule is.
5. Find the cause: overloading, a blocked vent, a worn door seal, the fridge next to an oven, or a fault. Call an engineer if it keeps happening.
6. Write it all down. An officer would much rather see "7°C at 3pm, door seal loose, food moved, engineer booked" than a column of perfect 4°C readings that look copied.

Other temperature records worth keeping

• Deliveries: check that chilled goods arrive at 8°C or below and frozen goods arrive frozen. Refuse anything that doesn't.
• Cooking: Safe Catering's cooking records use a core temperature above 75°C. The FSA also lists equivalent time and temperature combinations, such as 70°C for 2 minutes.
• Cooling: cool cooked food as quickly as possible before it goes in the fridge, and record when it went in.
• Hot holding: 63°C or above, checked and recorded regularly.

Tips that make the log stick

• Tie the check to something that happens every day anyway, such as unlocking the door or the first coffee order.
• Give one person responsibility each shift, with a named backup.
• Keep the log where the fridges are, not in the office.
• Have a manager glance over the week's records every Monday and sign them.

General information for small businesses, not legal or professional advice. Rules change, so check the official sources linked above before you rely on them.