Receiving temperature log: what to check at the back door and what to write

A receiving temperature log records the temperature of cold and frozen deliveries when they arrive. Cold TCS food (time/temperature control for safety food) must arrive at 41°F (5°C) or below, hot food at 135°F or above, and frozen food solidly frozen. For each delivery, write the date, the supplier, the item, the reading, whether you accepted it, and your initials. If a product is out of range, reject it and write down that you did.

This guide gives the limits and their exceptions, how to take a reading without wrecking the product, a filled-in log, and how to write a rejection. Blank sheets are on the free logs page.

Why check at the door

You cannot fix food that arrived warm. A case of chicken that spent three hours on a truck at 50°F is already past what your cooler can undo, and once it sits on your shelf it becomes your problem. Receiving is the first control point in most restaurant HACCP plans, and the only place where the supplier can still take the loss. The Food Code puts it plainly: food must be received from an approved source and at the right temperature or it is not to be accepted [1].

A log also protects you. If a customer is sick and the inspector asks about a delivery, a line showing that the product was 38°F at the dock is evidence the problem began somewhere else.

The limits

These come from the FDA Food Code's receiving section [1]. The exceptions for milk, eggs and shellfish are written there for a reason: those products are shipped and handled in ways that make 41°F hard to guarantee, so the code lets you accept a slightly higher arrival temperature and requires fast cooling. Some states have stricter or different numbers; check your local code if it differs.

There is no single number for frozen food at receiving. The Food Code says it must be received frozen, and the practical test is whether it is hard and shows no sign of thawing [1]. Thermometer readings at or below 0°F are normal for frozen product, but a reading is not the only evidence; the packaging matters.

How to take the reading

The wrong method gives a false pass or a ruined case.

1. Use a calibrated probe thermometer with a thin tip, wiped with a sanitizing wipe between items. Calibrate it in ice water; it should read 32°F, within 2°F [1].
2. Probe the food, not the truck. The driver's dial tells you the trailer's air. It does not tell you the case in the middle.
3. Take the reading from the warmest likely spot. Pick a case from the middle of the pallet or the box nearest the door, not the top of the stack in the cold air.
4. For packaged food, go between packages when you cannot open them. Slide the probe between two packs (two vacuum bags of fish, two cartons of cream) and hold it until the reading settles. This reads close to the surface temperature, and it is lower than the core if the product is warming.
5. For loose or wrapped food, probe the thickest part in the center. Do not open a vacuum package just to check; use the between-packs method or an infrared thermometer for the surface, then probe one unit if the surface looks high.
6. Liquids and thin products: put the probe in the container or fold a slice over it.
7. Use an infrared gun for a quick screen only. It reads the surface. A surface reading above the limit means probe; a good surface reading on a case is not proof of the core.
8. Look and smell too. A case that is wet, dented, has broken seals, or has an off smell is rejected no matter what the dial says.

Do the check before you move product into the walk-in. Cold food on the dock for ten minutes is fine; fifteen cases on the dock for forty minutes while you find the pen is not. Get the pen and the thermometer ready before the driver arrives.

A filled-in receiving log

Four columns are essential: item, temperature, accepted or not and initials. The note column is for what you did about a miss. Keep the supplier column; when the same supplier fails twice, the log tells you so.

How to reject a delivery

1. Decide at the door. A delivery you accept is yours, and a claim later is harder. If a reading is out of range, the driver is standing there.
2. Show the reading. Let the driver see the thermometer in the product. Take a photo of the reading and the label if you can.
3. Write on the invoice or delivery slip what was refused, the temperature and the time. Ask the driver to sign or initial next to it. If they refuse, note that.
4. Do not take it "just for now". Product that has been rejected must not go into your cooler, where it can mix with accepted stock.
5. Log it. The row shows the temperature, "No" and what you did. Call the supplier's rep and ask for a credit or a replacement the same day.
6. Borderline cases. If a case reads 42°F to 44°F and it just came off a long route, some operators accept it, put it in the coldest place and recheck in 30 minutes. That is a judgment call the Food Code does not give you: the limit is 41°F. If you accept, say so in the note and track it.

Repeat failures are a supplier problem. If three of the last ten deliveries from the same company were warm, change the delivery window, the supplier, or both.

Other things to check at receiving

• Shellfish tags. Keep them for 90 days from the date the last shellfish from the lot was used [1]. They belong with your records.
• Packaging. Torn, leaking, swollen or dirty cases are refused. A swollen can or pouch is a warning sign.
• Dates. Check the use-by dates on dairy, vacuum-packed and ready-to-eat items.
• Pests and cleanliness of the truck. If the truck is dirty or has signs of pests, say so on the slip.
• Approved source. All food must come from a source regulated by the authorities. Receipts are your proof; keep invoices on file.

Where the log goes in your system

Receiving is one of four temperature records most restaurants keep, with cold units, hot holding and cooling. Each has a limit, a way to check it and a written action. The overview is in the restaurant temperature log sheet guide. Once food is in, the cooler record continues in the walk-in cooler temperature log and cold holding guides. In a written plan, receiving is a row with the limit, the monitoring and the corrective action, as in the HACCP critical control points examples.

Questions

What temperature should cold food be when delivered?

41°F or below. Milk may arrive at 45°F or below and be cooled to 41°F within four hours.

What temperature should frozen food be at delivery?

Frozen solid. A reading of 0°F is typical. Reject food that is soft, has ice crystals, or liquid in the case.

Can I use an infrared thermometer to check deliveries?

For a quick screen of the surface. If it reads above the limit, or if you need the core temperature, use a probe.

How do I check a vacuum-packed item?

Slide the probe between two packs and wait for the reading to settle. Do not cut the bag.

Do I need to log every item in a delivery?

Log each TCS item or group of the same product from the same case. A pallet of canned goods does not need a reading.

What should I do with a warm delivery I already put away?

Probe it now. If it is above 41°F, treat it as out of range, call the supplier and log what happened. Do not use it on the line.

How long do I keep receiving logs?

Keep them with your other temperature records; 90 days is the Food Code minimum where a plan is required, and a year is common [1].

Sources

1. FDA Food Code 2022 (3-202.11 receiving temperatures, 3-202.18 shellstock identification, 3-203.12 records), U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. Keep food safe: the danger zone, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

Related: all food safety guides.