Temperature control is one of the most heavily weighted areas in any EHO inspection. Consistent, accurate temperature monitoring shows the EHO that you take food safety seriously.
Legal temperature requirements
| Zone | Required temperature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge | 0–5°C (legal max: 8°C) | Aim for 1–4°C. Some foods (e.g. cooked meats, dairy) need below 5°C. |
| Freezer | -18°C or below | -22°C recommended for long-term storage. |
| Danger zone | 5–63°C | Bacteria multiply rapidly in this range. Minimise time food spends here. |
| Hot holding | 63°C or above | Food must stay above 63°C after cooking. If it drops below, reheat to 75°C. |
| Core cooking temp | 75°C for 30 seconds | Poultry, pork, minced meat, and rolled joints need this. Other meats may have different requirements. |
| Reheating | 75°C (once only) | Food should only be reheated once. Never reheat rice more than once. |
| Cooling | From 60°C to 20°C within 2 hours, then to 8°C within 4 hours | This is the legal cooling standard. Use blast chillers for faster cooling. |
How to set up temperature monitoring in Spotless Score
Cold store checks (fridges, freezers, cold-rooms)
- First, add your cold storage units — Managing Fridges guide
- By default, you have "Fridge/freezer temps" configured as a twice-daily cold_store check type
- When completing this check, the TempReadingModal shows each unit with its safe range
- If a reading is out of range, you must enter a corrective action note (this is mandatory — EHOs look for this)
Cooking and hot-holding checks
- Add your menu items as food items — Managing Food Items guide
- Use food-type checks for cooking temperature logging (default check: "Cooking temps")
- Each reading records the temperature against the selected food item and highlights out-of-range values
Probe calibration
Your temperature probes must be calibrated regularly — EHOs check this. The weekly "Food probe calibration" check reminds you to verify against ice water (0°C ±1°C) and boiling water (100°C ±1°C).
See Reference: Temperatures & Frequencies for calibration tolerances.
Out-of-range readings
EHOs don't expect perfect readings every time — they expect you to notice and act when something is wrong. Spotless Score helps with this:
- Out-of-range temperatures are highlighted in red
- A mandatory corrective action note is required before you can save
- The record shows what action you took (e.g. "Adjusted thermostat, temps stable after 10 minutes")
This is what a good due diligence record looks like — evidence that you identified a problem, took corrective action, and logged it.
Automated sensor monitoring (IoT thermometer integration) is planned for a future release. All temperatures are currently logged manually through the Spotless Score app.
Frequency recommendations
| What to check | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge / freezer temps | Twice daily (opening + closing) | Catches overnight drift and service-period issues |
| Full temperature log | Daily | All cold storage, hot hold, and cooked food |
| Food probe calibration | Weekly | EHO requirement; inaccurate probes = unreliable records |
| Cooking temps | Twice daily (service periods) | Critical control point for most businesses |
| Delivery temps | Per delivery | Supplier cold chain — check on arrival |