Freezer Temperature Log

What temperature should a medical freezer be?

CDC's storage range for frozen vaccines is -50 °C to -15 °C (-58 °F to +5 °F). Ultra-cold products have a colder range of their own, and anything else you freeze should follow its package insert.

How to use this log

• Check at the start of each workday: the current temperature plus the minimum and maximum since the last check.
• Take a second reading before closing, so a door left ajar is caught the same day.
• Use a digital data logger with a probe if you can. It records the temperature between checks, including overnight and weekends.
• Keep the freezer for medications only. CDC advises against storing anything but vaccines, diluents and water bottles in vaccine units, and never food or drinks.
• Never store diluent in the freezer. CDC's guidance is to store diluent with its refrigerated vaccine where possible.

If a reading is out of range

• Don't discard anything yet. Label the products "Do not use" and keep them stored at the correct temperature.
• Note the time, the temperature and how long it may have been out of range.
• Contact the manufacturer and your medical director about whether the products can still be used.
• Write what you did in the action column. An out-of-range day with a clear action is a normal record; an out-of-range day with nothing written is what an inspector asks about.

Questions