Food temperature records: what should operators actually capture?

Temperature records are useful when they prove that a control was performed, show whether the result was acceptable and document what happened when it was not.

The regulatory temperature framework

FSANZ guidance identifies 5°C or colder and 60°C or hotter as the standard safe temperature zones for potentially hazardous food. Food can also be controlled by time where the applicable requirements are followed.

For cooling cooked potentially hazardous food, the standard two-stage process is from 60°C to 21°C within two hours, then from 21°C to 5°C or colder within the next four hours.

The separate 2-hour/4-hour rule applies to ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food held between 5°C and 60°C. The cumulative time matters: under 2 hours it may be refrigerated again or used; between 2 and 4 hours it should be used or sold but not returned to refrigeration; beyond 4 hours it should be discarded.

Useful records

Record the decision, not just the number.

°C

Storage / holding

Capture the equipment or food, reading, time and whether the result met the configured limit.

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Cooling

Capture the relevant start and checkpoint temperatures and times so the two-stage cooling process can be demonstrated.

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Out-of-range results

Keep the corrective action with the original failed reading so the evidence shows what happened next.

Operational principle

A fridge log is not automatically good evidence.

A repetitive number entered twice a day with no equipment identity, no person, no limit and no action trail is weak operational evidence. A useful record connects the reading to the control and the response.

See CSA digital food-safety records →

Primary sources: FSANZ Food temperature and thermometers and FSANZ 2-hour / 4-hour rule.