The Fridge That Wasn't Cold Enough
A café's food safety management system is based on HACCP principles. The main under-counter fridge holds cooked meats, dairy desserts and open sauces. The manager checks temperatures each morning and records them. On Monday the fridge reads 9°C; on Tuesday 10°C; on Wednesday 11°C. The manager notes 'fridge a bit warm' and adjusts the dial. On Thursday the reading is 12°C. The fridge contains food that was delivered on Monday. The café is busy and the manager decides to 'keep an eye on it' rather than move the food.
1. Assess how well the café's food safety management system is working, using the temperature records as evidence.
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The system is not working effectively. A HACCP-based system requires critical limits to be set and corrective action to be taken when they are breached. The cold-holding limit is 8°C; the fridge has been above it for four consecutive days. Recording the temperature is only useful if it triggers action. The manager's response - noting the problem and adjusting a dial - is not a corrective action. The trend from 9°C to 12°C shows a developing fault that should have been escalated on day one. The records actually demonstrate a failure of the system, not compliance with it.
2. What corrective actions should have been taken on Monday, and what should happen now?
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On Monday: move the high-risk food to a working fridge or chill unit, check the fridge is not overloaded and that the door seals and thermostat are working, and call an engineer. Record the action and the food's disposition. Now: the food delivered on Monday has been held above 8°C for up to four days, which is well beyond any reasonable tolerance. It should be discarded unless the manager can show it was moved to safe storage, which the records do not show. The fridge should be taken out of service until repaired and verified. The manager should review why the corrective action step failed and retrain staff.
3. What records should the café keep to demonstrate it has managed this incident properly?
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Records should include the daily temperature readings for the period, the date and time the fault was identified, the corrective action taken (food moved or discarded), the engineer's report and repair date, the verification reading after repair, and the review of the food safety management system. These records show the business identified the problem, acted on it, and prevented recurrence. Without them, the café cannot demonstrate due diligence.