Set your automatic temperature loggers to record every 5 minutes for both vaccine and food fridges and freezers.Manual recording (twice-daily or similar) can sit alongside that if your procedures require it, but it should never be your only line of defence.
Strive for Five makes two important points about data loggers:
This isn’t an arbitrary number. It’s based on real-world experience with vaccine fridges:
If you only log every 30 or 60 minutes, you might see nothing more than a slightly higher reading and never realise the temperature was out of range for 20–25 minutes in between.
Think about three different settings for a logger:
That’s why Strive for Five lands on 5-minute intervals as the minimum standard for continuous logging – it’s a practical balance between safety and noise.
While Strive for Five is all about vaccines, the basic physics is exactly the same for:
Food doesn’t know whether it’s in a “vaccine fridge” or a “food fridge” – if it warms up, bacteria can grow. If it freezes when it shouldn’t, quality and safety can be affected.
Using 5-minute automatic logging in food fridges gives you:
So even though the guideline was written for vaccines, the risk management logic transfers neatly to food safety.
Strive for Five still requires twice-daily manual checks of vaccine fridges – but those checks sit on top of continuous logging, not instead of it.
That’s because relying on manual logging alone is risky:
Even health departments point out that data loggers provide 24/7 monitoring and are essential for working out how long vaccines have been out of range, something twice-daily checks simply can’t do.
Exactly the same issues apply in a kitchen, bar, bakery or aged-care facility. Manual logs on their own will always leave blind spots.
Putting all of this together, a sensible, Strive-for-Five-style approach for both vaccines and food is:
With that setup, you’re not drowning in unnecessary data, but you’re also not gambling on once-or-twice-daily readings. You’re following the same risk-based thinking that sits behind Australia’s own Strive for Five guidelines – just applying it to everything in your cold chain, not only vaccines.
If you like, next we can do a short companion article aimed specifically at vaccine providers, or one aimed at cafés and restaurants, both explaining why “every 5 minutes” is the standard you should be aiming for.
The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) is the recognised national accreditation authority for analytical laboratories and testing service providers in Australia. It is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that provides independent assurance of technical competence.
NATA accredits organisations to perform testing and inspection activities for their products and services. This gives consumers the assurance they need to make safe, healthy and reliable choices .
| QUICK SPECS | |
|---|---|
| Model | CLD-01 |
| Type | Temperature only with Dual Sensors |
| Temperature Range | Internal sensor: -23°C to +60°C External sensor: -40°C to +80°C |
| Humidity Range | N/A |
| Battery Type | CR2450 |
| Battery Life | Replace every 12 months |
| Accuracy |
Internal Sensor: ±0.3℃ (0℃ to +60℃) ±0.3℃ to ±0.7℃ (other temperatures) External Probe: ±0.5℃ (-20℃ to +40℃) ±1℃ (other temperatures) |
| Offline Memory | approx 24 days logging at 5 minute intervals |
| QUICK SPECS | |
|---|---|
| Model | CLX-01 |
| Type | Temperature only with Probe |
| Temperature Range | -40°C to 60°C Can operate up to 80°C for short periods |
| Humidity Range | N/A |
| Battery Type | CR2450 |
| Battery Life | Replace every 12 months |
| Accuracy | ±0.5℃ (-20℃ to +40℃) ±1℃ (other temperatures) |
| Offline Memory | approx 24 days logging at 5 minute intervals |
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Set it up, have a play, explore the features – obligation free.
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