Retained Regulation 852/2004 and national hygiene regulations
Do you need a fridge temperature log sheet?
No regulation says "write the fridge temperature down twice a day". The law requires a HACCP-based food safety management system with records commensurate with your business. That means temperature records, against numbers that differ between England and Scotland.
8 °C
the chill holding limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. gov.uk states it is recommended, not a legal figure, in Scotland
63 °C
the hot holding minimum for cooked food on display or for service in England
Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, Schedule 4
No fixed period
the law says records are retained "for an appropriate period", not for a set number of months
Question 1
What kind of food business is it?
Pick the closest. gov.uk defines a food business broadly: if you sell, cook, store, handle, prepare or distribute food, including from home, a mobile unit or online, you are one.
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UK food temperature control rules, England and Scotland compared
Last updated
The two sets of temperature control regulations are worded differently, and the difference is not cosmetic: England fixes numbers in the schedule, Scotland describes conditions. Both sit on top of the same retained EU hygiene regulation. Every row is quoted from the instrument named.
| Requirement | England (SI 2013/2996, Sch 4) | Scotland (SSI 2006/3, Sch 4) |
|---|---|---|
| Chill holding | Offence to keep food likely to support pathogen growth above 8 °C at food premises | No numeric limit. Offence to keep food other than in a refrigerator, refrigerating chamber or cool ventilated place, or above 63 °C |
| Hot holding | Offence to keep cooked or reheated food for service or display below 63 °C where that is needed to control pathogens | Above 63 °C is one of the two permitted holding conditions |
| Chilled display tolerance | Defence where the food was on display for sale for less than four hours and had not previously been displayed above 8 °C | Food exposed for sale, or undergoing preparation for sale, is outside the offence |
| Hot holding tolerance | Defence where the food had been held for service or display for less than two hours and had not previously been so held by that person | Not framed as a timed defence in Schedule 4 |
| Reheating | No reheating temperature stated in Schedule 4 | Reheated food must be raised to not less than 82 °C, with a defence where doing so would deteriorate its quality |
| Higher chill temperature by manufacturer's recommendation | Defence available where the manufacturer specified a temperature between 8 °C and ambient, supported by a well-founded scientific assessment | Not framed this way; the schedule works from holding conditions |
| Cold chain (UK-wide, retained 852/2004 Annex II Ch IX) | Food likely to support pathogen growth not to be kept at temperatures that might result in a risk to health; the cold chain is not to be interrupted, with limited periods outside temperature control permitted | Same requirement applies |
| Records (UK-wide, retained 852/2004 Art 5) | Documents and records commensurate with the nature and size of the business; retain other documents and records for an appropriate period | Same requirement applies |
- Chilled food must be kept at 8 °C or below, which gov.uk states is a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a recommendation in Scotland.
- gov.uk advises setting the fridge to 5 °C or below so food stays under 8 °C even when the temperature fluctuates.
- Cooked food kept for service or display must be at 63 °C or above in England, with a defence where it has been held for less than two hours.
- Chilled food can be kept out of the fridge for up to four hours in England, after which gov.uk says it must be thrown away; if it has been out for less than four hours it can go back in the fridge.
- Scotland requires reheated food to reach at least 82 °C, a rule that has no equivalent in the England regulations.
- Retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 Article 5(4)(c) requires food business operators to retain documents and records "for an appropriate period". It sets no number of months or years.
- The FSA's current Safer Food, Better Business guidance tells businesses to store completed diary pages safely until the next visit from a local authority food safety officer.
How this was compiled, and how to cite it
England column is taken from Schedule 4 to the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/2996), read on 15 August 2026; Scotland column from Schedule 4 to the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/3), read the same day. The UK-wide rows are from retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 as it applies in Great Britain. Wales and Northern Ireland make their own equivalent regulations, which gov.uk describes as carrying the same 8 °C legal requirement as England; we have not reproduced their wording here and say so rather than assuming. Nothing in this table applies to operations covered by Regulation 853/2004, which Schedule 4 excludes.
Cite this page
“UK food temperature control rules, England and Scotland compared”, Temperature Log, https://temperaturelog.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). England column is taken from Schedule 4 to the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/2996), read on 15 August 2026; Scotland column from Schedule 4 to the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/3), read the same day. The UK-wide rows are from retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 as it applies in Great Britain. Wales and Northern Ireland make their own equivalent regulations, which gov.uk describes as carrying the same 8 °C legal requirement as England; we have not reproduced their wording here and say so rather than assuming. Nothing in this table applies to operations covered by Regulation 853/2004, which Schedule 4 excludes.
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Read next
The longer answers, with sources.
- Fridge and freezer temperature log: what to record
What a food business should record on a fridge temperature log, how often, what the target temperatures are, and what to write down when a reading is out of range.
- How long must you keep food temperature records?
The honest answer: retained Regulation 852/2004 says an appropriate period and sets no number. What FSA guidance says instead, and how to decide a retention period.
- Safer Food, Better Business: what the SFBB diary must show
How the FSA's SFBB pack works, what the diary has to contain, where CookSafe and Safe Catering apply instead, and when a full HACCP plan is expected instead.
- Food temperature rules in Scotland: reheating and hot holding
Scotland's hygiene regulations do not set an 8C chill limit and do require reheating to 82C. What that means for temperature records north of the border.
What it does and does not check
The 6 things it checks
- Which temperature checks your business needs to record, and why
- Safer Food, Better Business diaries against a full written HACCP plan
- The 8 °C chill rule and the 63 °C hot holding rule, and their tolerance periods
- Why Scotland's temperature control regulations are worded differently
- How long records must be kept, and what the law actually says about that
- Caterers, retailers, care homes, childminders, manufacturers and mobile units
Temperature Log is an information site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland or any local authority, and nothing on it is legal advice. Food hygiene law is enforced locally and the right answer for your premises can depend on facts a website cannot see: confirm the position with your local authority food safety team. Every legal figure here carries the instrument it comes from and the date we read it.
Questions, answered directly
Do I legally have to record fridge temperatures?
No regulation names fridge temperature logs. The duty is in retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004, Article 5. It requires a permanent HACCP-based procedure, effective monitoring at critical control points, and records commensurate with the business. Refrigerated storage is a critical control point for almost every caterer, so recording its temperature meets that duty.
Are there official Food Standards Agency or Safer Food, Better Business fridge temperature sheets?
No regulation prescribes FSA fridge temperature sheets as such. The Food Standards Agency's small business route is Safer Food, Better Business, where the diary is the record, kept electronically or on paper. Scotland's CookSafe includes a Cold Food Record. Northern Ireland's Safe Catering fridge temperature records form is the Fridge/Cold Room/Display Chill Temperature Record.(FSA, Safe Catering (Northern Ireland) records)
What fridge temperature records does Safe Catering need in Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland the FSA points caterers to its Safe Catering pack, not Safer Food, Better Business. The duty is the same. Regulation (EC) 852/2004, Article 5 requires monitoring at critical control points and records commensurate with business size. Chilled food at 8 °C or below is a legal requirement there, gov.uk states, so fridge records are kept against that.
What temperature must chilled food be kept at?
8 °C or below. gov.uk calls this a legal requirement in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a recommendation in Scotland. It advises setting the fridge to 5 °C or below so food stays cold enough when the temperature changes. In England the offence is in Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
What is the minimum hot holding temperature?
63 °C in England. Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 makes it an offence to keep cooked or reheated food for service or display below 63 °C. That applies where needed to control pathogen growth or toxin formation. A defence applies if held under two hours and not previously held for service by that person.
How long can chilled food be out of the fridge?
gov.uk says up to four hours, then throw it away; food out under four hours can go back in the fridge. That matches the England regulations' Schedule 4 defence for food displayed for sale under four hours and not previously displayed above 8 °C.
How long must food temperature records be kept?
Retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 Article 5(4)(c) says retain records "for an appropriate period", with no number. FSA Safer Food, Better Business guidance says store completed diary pages until the next local authority food safety officer visit. Contracts, audit schemes and traceability duties frequently require longer and usually set the real period.
Do the same temperature rules apply across the UK?
No. England, Wales and Northern Ireland use an 8 °C chill limit. The Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 instead require a refrigerator, refrigerating chamber or cool ventilated place, or above 63 °C, and reheating to at least 82 °C. The HACCP and record-keeping duties from retained Regulation (EC) 852/2004 are the same everywhere.
What happens if I cannot produce temperature records at an inspection?
After a food safety incident you will need your records as evidence of how you keep food safe, gov.uk states. Under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 an offence carries a fine on summary conviction. On indictment it is up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both. Officers can also serve hygiene improvement notices before any prosecution.
Sources
This site's own dataset, every figure quoted from its source and dated:
- The Temperature Monitoring Price Index carries 16 published figures read from 15 sources' own pages, from 6.18 to 202.40 GBP (20 sources publish a figure, some priced per month), read 11 November 2026.
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, Article 5, as retained
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II (including Chapter IX, foodstuffs), as retained
- Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, Schedule 4, temperature control requirements
- Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006, Schedule 4, temperature control requirements
- gov.uk, food hygiene for businesses: chilling and freezing
- gov.uk, food safety management systems for businesses
- Food Standards Agency, Safer Food, Better Business (5 June 2025)
- Food Standards Scotland, CookSafe guide
- gov.uk, food business registration
- Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, regulation 19, offences and penalties
Know what you have to write down
The duty is monitoring and records commensurate with your business, not a form somebody sold you.
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