Refrigerator and freezer temperature log

The Food Code sets one limit for cold holding, and frozen food has its own rule. The log has a column for the limit, the reading and the corrective action.

1. 1.41°F or less. Cold TCS food, in every walk-in, reach-in and prep cooler (§3-501.16(A)(2)).
2. 2.Frozen stays frozen. Stored frozen food is kept frozen (§3-501.11).
3. 3.Not during prep or cooling. The 41°F limit does not apply while food is being prepared, cooked or cooled, or when you use time as a public health control (§3-501.16(A), §3-501.19).

Inspectors mark cold holding on the food temperatures they measure during the visit, with a calibrated thermometer. One TCS food above 41°F marks the item out of compliance, unless it is still cooling or you use time as a public health control (FDA Food Code 2026, Annex 7, Guide 3-B, item 22). The log shows what your units held between visits.

The Food Code sets the 41°F limit and says nothing about a log (§3-501.16): the inspector measures the food, and your log shows what the units held between visits. Some local codes do require one, for example Lee County, Illinois, for every refrigeration and freezer unit (County Code §4-7-4(C)). And within four years of your regulatory authority adopting the 2026 Food Code, a written food safety management system with monitoring records becomes due (§8-201.15).

Ask the health department that issued your permit which edition it enforces. More in what the 2026 Food Code changes for restaurants.

1. 1.Name each unit. Walk-in, reach-in 1, the freezer: one name per unit, the same every day.
2. 2.Check at fixed times. For example at opening and at closing. An empty line then shows a missed check.
3. 3.Above the limit, write the action. What you did, the time and your initials, on the same line.
4. 4.Sign the week. The manager reads the sheet and signs at the bottom.

• Cooling log template
• Hot holding temperature log
• All templates and tools