Food safety inspection: what they check about temperatures and what fines you risk

If temperature records are missing when an inspection arrives, you risk a fine from hundreds to thousands of euros, an order to dispose of stock with no provable temperature history, and a follow-up inspection. Food safety inspections usually come unannounced, and temperature records are among the first things inspectors ask for. Here's what they focus on, which mistakes get penalised and how to have your records ready at any time.

What inspectors check about temperatures

• Complete records: measurements must cover the whole period — including weekends, holidays and vacations.
• Limits respected: values must match your HACCP documentation (which limits apply).
• Corrective actions: every limit breach must have a note about what you did about it.

The most common mistakes that get penalised

Gaps in records over the weekend. A whole month filled in at once with the same pen — an inspector spots that immediately. A breach with no corrective action noted. Records that went "missing" exactly for the period the fridge was broken.

What fines you risk

Depending on severity, fines range from hundreds to thousands of euros, more for repeated or serious findings — plus a follow-up inspection. The most expensive outcome, though, is being ordered to dispose of stock you can't prove was kept at safe temperatures.

What to do if records are already missing

• Never backfill. An admitted gap with an explanation is a smaller problem during an inspection than records the inspector doesn't trust — backfilling is spotted immediately.
• Admit the gap and record a corrective action. Note the date, the cause (vacation, breakdown, staff shortage) and what you changed so it doesn't happen again.
• Set up a system where gaps can't occur. Automatic monitoring instead of a paper log records continuously — including weekends and holidays.

How to be ready any day

With automatic monitoring, records create themselves — continuously and without gaps. During an inspection you print a monthly PDF protocol in seconds, including breaches and corrective actions. We keep a 5-year archive, exactly what inspection practice expects.