Fridge and Freezer Temperatures for UK Restaurants: The Complete Guide

Last updated: April 2026

Your fridge is probably the most important piece of equipment in your kitchen. Not because of what it costs, but because of what goes wrong when it fails.

A fridge that creeps above temperature for a few hours can put every chilled item inside at risk. And if you can't prove it was running correctly during an EHO inspection, you're not just losing food. You're losing points on your hygiene rating.

This guide covers everything UK hospitality venues need to know about fridge and freezer temperatures: the legal requirements, how to monitor them properly, what to do when things go wrong, and how to keep records that actually hold up under inspection.

What Temperature Should a Restaurant Fridge Be in the UK?

The legal maximum for chilled food storage in the UK is 8C. But best practice - and what most EHOs expect to see - is 5C or below.

Here's why the 3-degree gap matters: food stored at 5C stays safely below the legal limit even if your fridge has minor fluctuations during busy service. Open the door 40 times during a lunch rush and the internal temperature will spike temporarily. If you're running at 7C to begin with, those spikes push you over the line.

The short version:

• Legal maximum: 8C
• Best practice target: 1-5C
• Ideal: 3-5C for most chilled items
• Record frequency: at least twice daily per fridge unit

These requirements come from the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, which implement EC Regulation 852/2004. Similar rules apply across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

What Temperature Should a Freezer Be in the UK?

Freezers must be kept at -18C or colder. This is the standard set by UK food safety law and applies to every commercial kitchen, whether you're running a 200-cover restaurant or a village pub.

Key rules:

• Target: -18C or below
• Record frequency: at least twice daily per freezer unit
• Segregation: raw and ready-to-eat items stored separately
• If warmer than -18C: retake in 1 hour; if still high, remove food from service and log corrective action

One thing worth knowing: freezer temperatures aren't just about safety. They also affect food quality. Ice crystals form differently at different temperatures, so food stored at -12C will degrade faster than food at -22C, even if both are technically "frozen."

When and How to Record Temperatures

Recording temperatures isn't optional. It's a legal requirement under the Food Safety Act 1990, and it's one of the first things an EHO will ask to see.

Minimum recording schedule:

• Every fridge: at least twice daily (opening and closing)
• Every freezer: at least twice daily (opening and closing)
• Delivery items: on arrival, before accepting into storage

How to take accurate readings:

1. Use a calibrated probe thermometer or the unit's built-in digital display
2. Don't open the door and immediately read the dial. Wait for it to stabilise or use an air temperature probe placed inside the unit
3. Record the reading, the time, and who took it
4. If the reading is out of range, record the corrective action taken

A note on built-in displays vs probe thermometers: Most modern commercial fridges have a digital display showing the current temperature. These are fine for routine monitoring, but EHOs will want to see that you also use a calibrated probe thermometer periodically. The built-in sensor might be placed near the cooling element and not reflect the actual temperature of your food.

What to Do When a Fridge or Freezer Goes Out of Range

This is where a lot of venues lose marks. Not because the fridge failed, but because they didn't handle it properly when it did.

Step-by-step corrective action:

1. Record the out-of-range temperature immediately
2. Check for obvious causes (door left open, overloaded, faulty seal, power issue)
3. Fix what you can (close the door properly, reduce the load, adjust the thermostat)
4. Retake the temperature after 1 hour
5. If still out of range: remove all high-risk food from the unit and record what was discarded or moved
6. Log the entire sequence: initial reading, cause identified, action taken, follow-up reading
7. Report the equipment issue for repair

The key thing EHOs want to see isn't that your equipment never fails. It's that when it does, you followed a clear process and documented everything. A well-handled equipment failure actually demonstrates good management.

Fridge and Freezer Temperature Log: What to Include

Your temperature log should capture:

• Date and time of each reading
• Which unit (label every fridge and freezer with a unique ID)
• The temperature recorded
• Who took the reading
• Any corrective action (if out of range)
• Sign-off from a manager or supervisor

Common mistakes with temperature logs:

• Filling in the same temperature every day without actually checking (EHOs notice patterns that look too perfect)
• Not recording the unit ID when you have multiple fridges
• Logging temperatures but not corrective actions
• Using a log template that doesn't have space for corrective actions
• Keeping logs in a drawer nobody checks until inspection day

The best temperature logs are the ones that get completed as part of the daily routine, not as a separate admin task. If your team already does opening and closing checks, temperature logging should be built into that workflow.

Probe Calibration: The One Everyone Forgets

Your temperature readings are only as accurate as your probe. If your probe thermometer is off by 2 degrees, every single reading you've taken is unreliable, and your EHO will know it.

How to calibrate:

1. Fill a container with crushed ice and a small amount of cold water
2. Insert the probe and wait for it to stabilise. It should read 0C (plus or minus 1C)
3. Boil water and insert the probe. It should read 100C (plus or minus 1C, adjusted for altitude)
4. Record both results with the date
5. If readings are off by more than 1C: recalibrate or replace the probe

How often: Weekly at minimum. Some venues do it daily, which is even better.

Pro tip: Keep a calibration log next to your probes. It takes 60 seconds and it's one of the easiest wins for "confidence in management" on your EHO inspection.

Temperature Ranges: Quick Reference

How Aquaint Makes Temperature Logging Effortless

Manual temperature logs work, but they rely on your team remembering to do them, having the right paperwork to hand, and actually recording corrective actions when things go wrong.

Aquaint replaces all of that with:

• Twice-daily fridge/freezer prompts per unit, so nothing gets missed
• Corrective action workflows built in, so your team knows exactly what to do when a reading is out of range
• Digital records that are searchable and accessible in seconds during an EHO inspection
• Site scoring so you can see which locations are completing checks consistently
• EHO-ready reports generated in one tap, covering any date range you need

No paper. No guesswork. No panic before inspection day.

Book a free demo and see how 100+ hospitality brands keep their fridges (and their hygiene ratings) exactly where they should be.

FAQs

What temperature should a restaurant fridge be in the UK? 5C or below is best practice. The legal maximum is 8C, but most EHOs expect to see fridges running at 5C or lower. Record temperatures at least twice daily per unit.

What temperature should a commercial freezer be? -18C or colder. This applies to all commercial food businesses in the UK. Record at least twice daily and take corrective action if the temperature rises above -18C.

How often should I check fridge temperatures in a restaurant? At least twice daily per unit - typically at opening and closing. Some high-risk operations check more frequently during service. The key is consistency and documenting every reading.

What do I do if my fridge temperature is too high? Record the reading, check for obvious causes, take corrective action, and retake after 1 hour. If still out of range, remove high-risk food from the unit and log everything. See the corrective action steps above for the full process.

Do I need a separate temperature log for each fridge? Yes. Each unit should be individually identified and have its own readings recorded. This is especially important in kitchens with multiple fridges for different product types.

Can I use the fridge's built-in thermometer for my records? Yes, for routine monitoring. But you should also periodically verify with a calibrated probe thermometer, as built-in sensors can drift over time.

What's the difference between 5C and 8C for food safety? At 5C, bacterial growth is minimal. Between 5C and 8C, some bacteria can still multiply, though slowly. The 3-degree buffer gives you a safety margin during normal temperature fluctuations (door openings, restocking, busy service).

How long can food be out of the fridge? Under the 4-hour rule, chilled food can be displayed without refrigeration for a maximum of 4 hours, after which it must be discarded. Start timing from when the food leaves temperature control.

Related Reading

• UK Food Safety Temperatures: The FSA Chart + Checklist
• Fridge and Freezer Temperatures for UK Restaurants: The Complete Guide
• Hot Holding Temperature UK: Rules, Timers and the 2-Hour Rule
• Cooking and Reheating Temperatures UK: The FSA Guide for Hospitality
• EHO Inspection Checklist 2026: Get 5 Stars
• HACCP Plan Template for UK Hospitality (Free PDF)