What goes on a refrigerator and freezer temperature log?

Each unit by name and location — which cooler, which walk-in — what kind of unit it is, the date and time of the reading, and the temperature the thermometer actually showed rather than what the dial is set to. Then anything wrong and what was done about it, and who took the reading.

What temperature should a refrigerator be kept at?

The FDA Food Code is a model code: it binds you through the version your state has adopted, which is often not the current one and is sometimes amended. So this tool does not print a temperature and call it the requirement. Enter the target from the code your state actually adopted, or from your own food-safety plan, and readings outside it are flagged on the record as measured against your figure.

Can one log cover several units?

Yes. Add every cooler, freezer and walk-in once — the list is kept for that building — then record readings against whichever unit each one belongs to. The printed sheet shows the unit, its location and its type on every row, so a month of readings across six units stays readable.

Refrigerator & freezer temperature log

Recording tool

Every cooler and freezer, every reading, dated — and a clean sheet to post or file.

The building

Facility name *Month *

AddressRecorded by

The FDA Food Code is a MODEL code. It binds you through the version your state has adopted, which is frequently not the current one and is sometimes amended — so this tool does not print a temperature and call it the requirement. Record the reading; set your own target below from the code your state actually adopted or from your food-safety plan, and the log will flag readings outside it.

Where the reference figures come from

Refrigerator and freezer temperature log. Read and log every refrigerator and freezer. Cold holding has to stay at or below 41 °F under the Food Code your state adopts, and the log is what proves it. FDA Food Code §3-501.16 (cold holding, as adopted by your state), 2022 edition · record: temperature log by unit. · retention: minimum 1 year · checked July 2026

This is the national consensus baseline, with the edition each figure was checked against. Whether it applies to your building — and at what frequency — depends on the code edition your jurisdiction has adopted, your occupancy, your equipment's listing, the manufacturer's instructions and your authority having jurisdiction. Confirm it with them. This tool records what you did; it makes no determination that any facility is compliant.

Your own target (optional)

Leave both boxes empty and the log simply records what you measured. Put your own figures in — from the rule that actually applies to your building, or from your own plan — and readings outside them are flagged on the record. The figures are yours; this tool does not supply them.

At least (°F)No more than (°F)

The units

One card per unit. Your list is kept for this building, so next time you open the tool and start recording rather than typing.

Unit ID / nameLocationType

Temperature readings

What the thermometer read when you looked, not what the dial is set to.

No readings yet — add the first one below.

Why the target is yours to set

The FDA Food Code is a model code. It applies to you through the version your state adopted — which is frequently not the current one, and is sometimes amended on the way. Printing a temperature here and calling it the requirement would be wrong for some readers and out of date for others.

So the tool records the reading, and takes your target from you. Put in the figure from the code your state actually adopted, or from your own food-safety plan, and anything outside it is flagged on the record — stated as measured against your figure, not ours.

What the reference row says

Refrigerator and freezer temperature log. Read and log every refrigerator and freezer. Cold holding has to stay at or below 41 °F under the Food Code your state adopts, and the log is what proves it. FDA Food Code §3-501.16 (cold holding, as adopted by your state), 2022 edition. Record: temperature log by unit.. Retention: minimum 1 year.

Several units, one sheet

Add each unit once and the list stays with the building. Every reading carries its unit, date, time and who took it, so a month of readings across a kitchen full of equipment prints as one legible record rather than six separate ones.

The rest of the facility log family

The water equivalent is the water & bathing temperature log. For life safety there are the extinguisher, emergency lighting and generator logs, and the PM checklist covers the rest of the round.

A record of temperatures you measured. CompliMaint sets no temperature requirement and makes no determination that any facility is compliant — your regulator and your authority having jurisdiction do that. Everything runs on your device.

Part of Assisted living — Your state's own requirements — drills, training, filings, postings, records — each cited, each with the tool that produces the document, and one place that says what is due next.

Emergency Preparedness Plan Builder — Built to the published requirements for your facility type and location.
Fire Drill Record & Log by State — The drill record, carrying your state's own frequency rule.
Survey Readiness Checklist by State — What a surveyor will ask for — and what you can't yet produce.