Free fridge and freezer temperature log template
This is a free fridge and freezer temperature log template you can download as a printable PDF or an editable Excel sheet — one page per week, with a row for every named unit and space for a morning and evening reading.
Free. No email address, no sign-up — the fridge & freezer temperature log downloads straight away.
Most temperature logs fail an inspection for the same two reasons: the units aren't named, and there's nowhere to record what you did when a reading was out of range. A sheet that says "Fridge 1 — 4°C" tells an inspector nothing if you have five fridges and nobody agrees which is which. This template makes you write the unit name once at the top of the week and then read down the same row every day.
The layout assumes two checks a day, because that is what most food safety management systems ask for: one at the start of service and one at the end. If your own system asks for three, the Excel version has a spare reading column you can label.
The commonly used targets printed on the sheet are 0–5°C for chilled units and −18°C or colder for frozen. Those are the figures used across most of Europe, the UK, Ireland and Australia. The US FDA Food Code works to 41°F (5°C) for cold holding, so the same sheet works in Fahrenheit if you relabel the units column. Check your own local requirement before you rely on the printed figure — the template is a recording tool, not a compliance ruling.
The corrective action column is the one that matters. If a fridge reads 8°C, an inspector is not looking for a perfect record — they are looking for evidence you noticed and did something. Write what you moved, what you binned, who you called, and initial it.
What's on the sheet
Log sheet — blank rows to fill in · Landscape A4 · PDF, Excel and CSV
Header fields
Venue / site · Week commencing · Manager on duty
Columns
- Unit name — e.g. Walk-in chill, Prep fridge 2
- Type — Chill / Freezer
- Target — 0–5°C / −18°C or below
- AM temp — °C
- AM initials
- PM temp — °C
- PM initials
- In range? — Y / N
- Corrective action taken — What you did, and who you told
Extra columns in the Excel version
- Extra check temp — °C — label this column if you check 3x daily
- Extra check initials
These are left off the printable version so the columns stay wide enough to write in by hand.
14 blank rows per sheet.
What you get
- ✓Printable PDF, landscape A4, 14 unit rows per week
- ✓Editable Excel (.xlsx) version with the same layout and a spare reading column
- ✓CSV version if you want to import it into your own system
- ✓Header block for venue, week commencing and manager on duty
- ✓Target column with the commonly used chilled and frozen figures pre-printed
- ✓Corrective action column wide enough to actually write in
How to use it
- 1
Print one sheet per week and put it on a clipboard beside the units, not in the office.
- 2
Write your unit names into the first column once, using the names actually painted or labelled on the equipment.
- 3
Fill the target column for each unit — chilled or frozen — so nobody has to remember the threshold.
- 4
Take the AM reading before service starts and the PM reading at close, initialling each one as you go.
- 5
If a reading is out of range, mark N, then write in the corrective action column what you moved, what you discarded and who you informed.
- 6
At the end of the week, have the manager on duty sign the sheet and file it with your food safety records.
Questions
How often should fridge temperatures be checked?
Twice a day is the working standard in most food safety management systems — once at the start of service and once at the end. Some systems ask for a check at every shift change instead. The template is laid out for two checks with a spare column in the Excel version if you need a third.
What temperature should a commercial fridge be?
0–5°C is the range used across the UK, Ireland, most of Europe and Australia. The US FDA Food Code sets cold holding at 41°F (5°C) or below. Freezers should sit at −18°C or colder. Confirm against your own local requirement before printing.
What do I write if a fridge is out of range?
Write what you actually did: moved stock to another unit, discarded specific items, called the engineer, or turned the unit down and re-checked in an hour. Then record the re-check. An inspector wants to see a decision, not a clean sheet.
Do I need a digital temperature log instead of paper?
Paper is accepted everywhere as long as it is complete, legible and retained. Digital logs mainly help with the two things paper is bad at: nobody can back-fill a week of readings the night before an inspection, and you get an alert when a check is missed rather than finding out later.
Or stop printing it altogether
Rotahr does this check on a phone — timestamped, with the person who did it attached, reminders when one is due, and a PDF export when somebody asks for a month of records. Same job, no folder to search through.
Templates that go with it
Cooking & cooling temperature log
This free cooking and cooling temperature log template — printable PDF or editable Excel — records the core temperature of cooked items and tracks how fast cooked food came down through the danger zone, with a column for the use-by date you assign afterwards.
Delivery check record
This free delivery check record template — printable PDF or editable Excel — gives you one row per delivery to record the supplier, the temperature of chilled and frozen goods on arrival, packaging and date-code condition, and exactly what you rejected and why.
Corrective action log
This free HACCP corrective action log template — printable PDF or editable Excel — records every failed check in one place: what went wrong, what you did immediately, what you changed so it does not recur, and who signed it off.
Free to print, copy and use in your venue — no attribution required. Written for an international audience: where a threshold is a widely used figure it is printed as one, but food safety and employment rules differ by country and change. Check yours before relying on this sheet.
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