What Ontario food safety logs are for
When a public health inspector visits an Ontario restaurant, cafe, bakery or catering kitchen, they check whether potentially hazardous food is being held at safe temperatures, whether dishes and surfaces are being sanitized properly, whether there are signs of pests, and whether a trained food handler is on duty. Ontario Regulation 493/17 sets the limits, and some records are mandatory: pest control measures must be recorded and kept for a year, and food purchase records must be kept on site for a year. Daily logs are how an operator proves the rest.
This template is a complete weekly logbook built around the regulation. The first page prints every limit in one table with its section number, followed by a daily opening checklist. Separate logs cover refrigerators and freezers, hot holding, cooking and reheating with the minimum internal temperatures, two-stage cooling, the mechanical dishwasher, manual sanitizer strength, thermometer calibration, the cleaning schedule, pest control, food handler training and daily coverage, staff illness exclusions, and food receiving, ending with a weekly manager sign-off. Every log has a corrective action column, because a reading out of range is only a problem if nothing was done about it.
When to use it
Use it in any Ontario food premise that handles potentially hazardous food: restaurants, cafes, take-out and food trucks, bakeries, caterers, institutional kitchens, daycares and long-term care food services, and grocery delis. Print a fresh set each week, keep completed logs on the premises, and keep pest control and purchase records for at least a year.
Use only the pages that apply: a cafe without hot holding can skip that log, and a kitchen with an NSF-certified dishwasher records the readings its gauges show. Food processing plants licensed under federal or provincial meat, dairy or fish legislation have additional record requirements that these logs do not replace.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Key limits and daily opening checklist
- Cold and hot holding
- Two-hour preparation allowance
- Sanitizer strengths
- Dishwasher temperatures
- Cooling targets
- Daily checks for seven days
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Temperature logs
- Refrigerator and freezer AM and PM
- Hot holding every two hours
- Cooking and reheating with minimum temperature table
- Two-stage cooling
-
Dishwashing and sanitizer logs
- Mechanical dishwasher wash and rinse
- Manual sink and bucket sanitizer ppm
- Thermometer calibration
-
Cleaning and pest control
- Cleaning and sanitizing schedule
- Pest control measures kept for one year
-
People and purchases
- Food handler training record
- Trained person on duty each day
- Staff illness and exclusion
- Food receiving and purchase records
- Weekly manager review
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to use the logs
- Fill in the premise details. Enter the name, address, operator and week starting date.
- Post the key limits. Keep the first page where staff can see it.
- Do the opening checklist. Confirm trained staff, handwashing supplies, thermometers, sanitizer, pests and staff health each day.
- Record temperatures twice a day. Log every refrigerator and freezer at opening and in the afternoon.
- Log hot holding, cooking and cooling. Use a calibrated probe thermometer and write the time and temperature each time.
- Test sanitizer every batch. Use test strips for each sink, bucket and spray bottle, and check the dishwasher each shift.
- Write the corrective action. Whenever a reading is out of range, record what was done.
- Keep the records. File pest control and purchase records for at least a year.
- Review weekly. The operator or manager reviews and signs each week's logs.
Example: a week's entries
A fictional Hamilton diner, Bayfront Breakfast Co., uses the logs in the week starting March 2, 2026:
Refrigerator log, Tuesday: walk-in cooler 3°C at 7:00 AM; prep cooler 7°C at 2:00 PM. Corrective action: door seal torn; food moved to the walk-in after less than an hour above 4°C, internal temperatures checked; seal replaced; 3°C at 4:00 PM. Cooling log, Wednesday: chili at 60°C at 1:00 PM; 22°C at 3:00 PM in shallow pans; reheated to 74°C and cooled again in an ice bath, 20°C by 4:30 PM and 4°C by 7:45 PM. Sanitizer log, Thursday: quaternary ammonium sink at 200 ppm, 26°C. Pest control log, Friday: contractor inspection, no activity, bait stations serviced.
The owner reviews and signs the week's logs on Sunday, noting that the prep cooler seal should be checked monthly.
Ontario rules to know
These are the Ontario rules the logs are built around.
- Temperature control (O. Reg. 493/17, sections 27 and 28). 4°C or lower, or 60°C or higher, with up to 2 hours allowed for preparation; frozen food kept frozen.
- Thermometers (section 30). Refrigeration and hot-holding equipment must have accurate, easily read thermometers.
- Sanitizing (section 19). 77°C water, 100 ppm chlorine, 200 ppm quaternary ammonium or 25 ppm iodine, for 45 seconds at 24°C or more, or another approved sanitizer with test reagents.
- Dishwashers (section 20). Wash at 60°C to 71°C; rinse at 82°C for 10 seconds or chemically; NSF-certified machines exempt.
- Pest control records (section 13). All measures recorded and kept for one year.
- Purchase records (section 29). Kept on the premises until the first anniversary of purchase.
- Food handler training (section 32). A trained food handler or supervisor on site every hour of operation.
- Food handlers (section 33). Hygiene, clean clothing, handwashing and freedom from food-borne infectious disease.
Mistakes inspectors find
The common problems are logs filled in at the end of the week from memory, readings that are always exactly the same, temperatures out of range with no corrective action written down, sanitizer buckets never tested, cooling done in deep pots that cannot reach 20°C in two hours, thermometers that have never been calibrated, no trained food handler on the evening shift, and pest control invoices thrown away. Recording real readings at the time, writing every corrective action, and having the manager sign each week avoids each of them.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature must food be kept at in Ontario?
Under section 27 of Ontario Regulation 493/17, potentially hazardous food must be kept at an internal temperature of 4°C or lower, or 60°C or higher, except for up to two hours needed for preparation, processing and manufacturing. Frozen food must be kept frozen until it is sold or prepared.
Does an Ontario restaurant have to keep temperature logs?
O. Reg. 493/17 does not prescribe a temperature log form, but it does require pest control records kept for one year and food purchase records kept until the first anniversary of purchase, and inspectors routinely ask how the operator monitors temperatures and sanitizer. A log is the simplest way to show the limits are being met every day.
What sanitizer concentration is required in Ontario?
For manual sanitizing, section 19 allows water of at least 77°C for 45 seconds, chlorine of at least 100 ppm, quaternary ammonium of at least 200 ppm, or iodine of at least 25 ppm, each at 24°C or warmer for at least 45 seconds, or another approved sanitizer used as directed with test strips available.
What temperatures must a commercial dishwasher reach in Ontario?
Section 20 requires wash water between 60°C and 71°C and a sanitizing rinse of water at 82°C or more for at least 10 seconds, or a chemical rinse at the section 19 strengths, with thermometers that show wash and rinse temperatures. Dishwashers certified by NSF International for commercial use are exempt from those specific requirements.
Does someone with food handler training need to be on site in Ontario?
Yes. Section 32 requires every food service premise to have at least one food handler or supervisor who has completed food handler training on the premises during every hour it is operating.
