Temperature Log Template for Fridges, Coolers, Freezers

A temperature log is a dated record of each fridge, walk-in cooler and freezer's temperature, read at set times, with the initials of whoever read it and what was done when a reading was too warm. It's one of the first records an inspector or a buyer asks to see, because cold storage is where perishable food is kept safe, and a log shows it was checked rather than assumed. In the example below, a tofu maker reads three units twice a day for a week, catches the walk-in at 44 °F one afternoon after a delivery, and writes down what it did about it. Below is what to record, the limits, what to do when a reading is out, how long to keep the log, and a free template.

The short version

• List every fridge, cooler and freezer with its upper limit.
• Read each one at set times, at least twice a day, with a thermometer you trust.
• Record the date, time, unit, reading and your initials.
• FDA's guidance: refrigerators at or below 40 °F, freezers at 0 °F; use your own code's limits if they differ.
• When a reading is out, write what you did: fixed the cause, moved the food, rechecked.
• Keep the logs with your other food safety records.
• TaroStack holds product back from sale when a cooler fails; it doesn't log equipment temperatures. More below.

What to record

Read the thermometer in the unit, not the dial on the outside, and check the thermometer against ice water now and then. Two readings a day, at opening and before closing, catch a failing compressor before a weekend; units that are opened constantly may need more.

The limits

FDA's guidance for storing food is a refrigerator at or below 40 °F and a freezer at 0 °F, and never leaving food that needs refrigeration out for more than two hours (FDA). A health department's food code or your own food safety plan may set its own limits for cold holding; where it does, use those in the log. How a food safety plan sets limits and records is in what is a food safety plan.

A week's log

Skunk River Tofu Co., a made-up tofu maker in Ames, Iowa, I use in these examples, reads its walk-in cooler, reach-in fridge and chest freezer at 7:30 and 16:30:

On Tuesday afternoon the walk-in read 44 °F. The door had been left ajar after a delivery; it was closed, the tofu moved to the reach-in, and the walk-in rechecked at 38 °F at 18:00, all written in the action column. That single line is what an inspector wants to see: the problem found, the cause, what happened to the food, and the recheck.

When a reading is out

Find the cause first: a door left open, a delivery just loaded, a defrost cycle, a failing unit. Then decide about the food inside: how warm it got and for how long decides whether it's still safe, kept for a closer look or thrown out, under your food safety plan's rules. Move product to a unit that's holding temperature, recheck within an hour or two, and call for service if the unit doesn't recover. Product that might have been affected is held back from sale until it's decided, and anything thrown out goes in the waste log template with its reason.

How long to keep it

Keep temperature logs with your other food safety records, for as long as your food safety plan, your health department or a buyer requires; how long common food safety records are kept is in how long should HACCP records be kept. This is general information, not food safety or legal advice.

Get the template

Download the temperature log template. Two sheets: units, with each fridge, cooler and freezer, its upper limit and where it is, and a count of its readings and out-of-limit readings; and the log, a row for each reading with the date, time, unit, reading, initials and action, which looks up the limit and flags any reading above it. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.

Where this stops working

The log says the walk-in was warm on Tuesday afternoon. It doesn't say which lots of tofu were in it, which of those were sold before anyone noticed, or which customers got them.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack holds product back from sale when a cooler fails. Plainly: it doesn't log equipment temperatures; the template does that.

Lots in each place. Every batch goes into a lot with its date, and stock is kept by site, so what was in the walk-in on Tuesday is a list.

Holds. Lots that might have been affected can be put on hold, kept apart from what you can sell, until they're cleared or thrown out, and throwing them out is an adjustment with its reason.

And the trail. If a held lot had already gone out, one report walks it to every customer who got it. Batch record forms carry the temperatures that belong to a batch, such as cooking and cooling, with limits and sign-off.

Lots, holds, adjustments, recalls and batch record forms are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.

Questions people also ask

What temperature should a fridge be for food?

FDA's guidance is at or below 40 °F, with a freezer at 0 °F. A health department code or your food safety plan may set its own cold-holding limit; use that in your log.

How often should fridge temperatures be checked?

At least twice a day, at opening and before closing, and more often for units opened constantly. Record every reading, not just the ones that were out.

What should a temperature log include?

The date and time, the unit, the reading, the limit, whether it was out, the action taken and the initials of whoever checked.

What do I do if my fridge temperature is too high?

Find and fix the cause, move the food to a unit that's holding temperature, decide what happens to it under your food safety plan, recheck, and write it all in the log.