Food Storage and Date Record
Index a freezer or a store cupboard so that stock rotates properly and things are found before they are forgotten.
HP-02 1 page
Kitchen and catering · KC-14
Defrosting and Thawing Record
A free printable defrosting record for a kitchen: item, method, where it is thawing, start time and the check that it is defrosted right through.
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One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Make sure nothing goes into the oven still frozen in the middle. Each item gets a line, and the line is not finished until someone has checked it right through.
Who it is for
Kitchens, caterers and care-home cooks who defrost meat, poultry, fish or prepared dishes before cooking.
How to use it
- Write a line as soon as an item comes out of the freezer: date, item, weight and method.
- Note where it is defrosting and the time it started, and copy the use-by from its label.
- Before cooking, check the middle is fully defrosted and initial the line with the time.
- Record whether it went to be cooked or back into the fridge, and anything not fully defrosted at the foot.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: One line per item out of the freezer: the method, where it is, when it started, and the check that it is defrosted right through.
Your own times and methods. No defrosting times are printed: they depend on the item's size and shape, the method and your equipment, so set your own in your food safety plan. Check the middle before cooking, unless the maker says it can be cooked from frozen, and keep raw meat, poultry and fish covered and below ready-to-eat food.
Write-on lines: Kitchen or site · Week beginning · Responsible person · Times and methods set out in
Items defrosting — method: fridge, cold running water, microwave or other
Table, 10 rows: Date · Item · Weight · Method · Where · Started · Use by · Defrosted · Went to · Notes
Ruled lines: Not fully defrosted when checked: what it was, and what was done
Questions
How long should things take to defrost?
It depends on the size and shape of the item, the method and your own equipment, so the sheet prints no times. Your food safety plan should set out the methods and times you use; this sheet records that each item was checked before it was cooked.
What about food that can be cooked from frozen?
Some products can, and their packaging or your own plan will say so. Those items do not need a line here: this record is for food you defrost before cooking.
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