Fridge temperature log: how to keep one that holds up

The temperature log is the most frequent check in any food safety plan, which is exactly why it degrades first: two readings a day become one, then a single signature at the end of the week.

When to record

Your own plan sets the frequency, not a blog post. The common operational standard is one reading at the start of service and one at close for every cold point, increasing on critical or historically unstable equipment.

What to write down

• Equipment identified uniquely (not "fridge 1" when there are three)
• The value you read, not the value you expect
• Real date and time of the reading
• Who took the measurement
• The corrective action, whenever the value is out of range

Out of range: what a defensible record looks like

1. Record the actual reading, even when it is bad.
2. State the action taken: product moved, equipment serviced, batch discarded.
3. Add a second reading after the action, to prove recovery.
4. Keep the evidence — a photo of the display beats a sentence.

Why paper logs fail

Paper cannot prove when a value was recorded. A digital log timestamps the entry, names the person and keeps the photo attached, so a corrective action taken in the moment still looks credible six months later.