Guide
What temperature records a food business in Cyprus should keep
Keep a record wherever temperature protects the food: deliveries when they arrive, cold rooms and fridges while they hold food, hot holding, cooling and cooking where you do them, and what you did every time a reading was wrong. The limits and how often to check come from your own food safety plan and your competent authority, so confirm them there. The records an inspector asks to see are usually these, made at the time, with who did what.
The short list
Most kitchens and producers need the same handful of temperature records. Which of them apply to you, and how often, depends on what you make and on the plan you work from.
| Where | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Product, supplier, reading, time, who took it, and the action if it was above the limit | Shows food was acceptable when it came in, or what you did when it was not |
| Cold rooms, fridges, freezers | The reading for each unit, at the interval your plan sets, or continuously from a sensor | Shows the food stayed cold between deliveries and use |
| Hot holding, cooling, cooking | Reading, time, who, for each step your plan treats as a control point | Shows the steps that make food safe were reached |
| Thermometers and probes | The check that the thermometer itself reads correctly, and when it was done | A wrong thermometer makes every other record wrong |
| Corrective actions | What was wrong, what you did, who decided, what happened to the food | A reading outside the limit with no action recorded is the gap people notice first |
What makes a temperature record useful
A record is useful when someone who was not there can read it and understand what happened. That usually means six things on every entry:
- What was measured: the product, the cold room, the machine.
- The reading, as measured, not rounded to look tidy.
- The limit it was compared with.
- The time, and the date written day first, for example 21/10/2026.
- Who took it.
- The action, if the reading was outside the limit.
The record also has to be made when the measurement is made. A sheet filled in at the end of the day, or the week, is a reconstruction, and it looks like one.
Receiving records
A delivery record starts with a probe reading taken in the product, not the air in the van. Write down the product, the supplier, the batch or lot if there is one, and the use-by date. When the reading is above the limit for that product, the record needs the decision: returned to the driver, discarded, or accepted by a manager with a reason. The reason matters more than the box ticked. For more on that moment, see our guide on what to do when a delivery arrives too warm.
Storage records
For each cold room, fridge and freezer you need readings often enough to show it stayed within its limit. A manual log gives you readings at the moments someone looked. A wireless sensor gives you readings round the clock and can tell the team when the limit is passed. Both are valid ways to keep the record. The difference is what happens between checks, which is covered in our guide to manual logs versus wireless sensors.
Records of cooking, cooling and hot holding
If your plan treats cooking, cooling or hot holding as a control point, record the core temperature, the time and who took it. These records are less common in a kitchen that mostly assembles cold food, and very important in a kitchen that cooks in batches. Ask your competent authority which steps they expect to see.
How long to keep the records
Retention periods depend on the product, its shelf life and the rules that apply to you. Check the current requirements with your competent authority. Many businesses keep records for at least as long as the product could still be in the market, plus a margin, but that is a habit, not a rule.
Common gaps
- Entries written at the end of the shift, all in the same pen.
- The same reading every day for weeks.
- No entries for weekends, nights or holidays.
- A reading outside the limit and nothing about what was done.
- Nobody's name or initials on the entry.
- Records in several places, so nobody can show a whole week at once.
Paper or digital
Either can be a good record. Paper is cheap and works without a battery. Digital records can be taken at the moment of measurement, cannot be left blank without someone noticing, and are in one place. Temperature Intelligence in ProOps reads delivery temperatures from a Bluetooth thermometer, requires a corrective action when a delivery is above the limit, and records cold rooms and fridges with wireless sensors around the clock. Each entry carries who did what and when.
See it on your own checks. A 20-minute demo with sample data from a fictional hotel, or a few of your own checks set up in a demo account.
Book a demoQuestions
How often should I record cold room temperatures?
As often as your food safety plan says. Many businesses check at set times each day; a wireless sensor records continuously. Ask your competent authority what they expect for your type of business.
Do I need to record the temperature of every delivery?
Many businesses do, at least for chilled and frozen food, because it is the only moment you can show the food arrived in good condition. Your plan decides which products are checked.
Can records be digital?
Digital records are common. What matters is that they are made at the time, show who made them, and can be shown when asked. Check the current requirements with your competent authority.
What should I do if a reading is outside the limit?
Act first, then record: what the reading was, what you did, who decided, and what happened to the food. A reading with no action next to it is the usual gap.
How long do I keep temperature records?
It depends on the product and the rules for your business. Ask your competent authority and write the answer into your plan.
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