Temperature records and the cold chain

Legal basis

EU — applies in Austria and Germany

Reg. (EC) 852/2004: temperature control and the cold chain are mandatory (Art. 4(3)); the cold chain must not be interrupted, though short periods outside temperature control are allowed for practical reasons (Annex II, Chapter IX, point 5).1,2

EU — applies in Austria and Germany

Rooms must allow temperatures to be monitored and, “where necessary, recorded”; a daily list is not literally required anywhere. Quick-frozen food: −18 °C, briefly at most 3 °C warmer.3,4

AT — Austria

Tiefkühl-Verordnung § 4. The WKO handbook recommends checking cold and frozen storage daily, recording the results and calibrating thermometers once a year (recommendation, not law).5,6

DE — Germany

§ 2 LMHV defines perishable food by temperature, § 2 TLMV covers quick-frozen food. The temperatures in Annex 5, Chapter I of the Tier-LMHV do not apply to restaurant kitchens.7,8,9

What the inspector wants to see

• Which equipment do you monitor, how often, and where are the readings?6,10
• What did you do when a limit was exceeded?10,11
• Does the thermometer measure correctly, and when was it last checked?6,12
• Is the cold chain maintained on delivery and in storage?2

Common mistakes

• Readings above the limit entered without any action.6,11
• The thermometer never checked; according to the guidance, a comparison with iced water is enough.12
• The list filled in afterwards in one go.Practice

Practise, read, print

Guide and template are in German for now.