Then I asked for the probe

EHO Story 📩

When I worked in local government, there was a moment in inspections that came up more than once.

And every time, it told me A LOT.

I’d ask to see the temperature records.

Out they came.

Beautifully filled in.
Fridge temperatures done.
Cooked food temperatures done.
Everything neatly written down as if the kitchen was the picture of control.

So far, so good.

Then I’d ask one very simple question:

Can you show me how you took those temperatures?

And suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

Someone opened a drawer.
Someone checked a shelf.
Someone called out to the back.
Someone else started looking in places that definitely did not contain a probe thermometer.

And just like that, the little probe thermometer that had apparently been used to take all those checks that day had vanished off the face of the earth.

Now that is awkward.

Because if your records are all filled in for today, but nobody can actually show me the probe thermometer that was used to do them, I’m going to start wondering a few things.

Mainly:

Were these checks actually done?

Because once that question appears, those tidy records stop looking reassuring.

They start looking a bit theatrical.
Like the food safety version of a very bad magic trick.

Food Safety Tip ✅

If you are keeping temperature records, make sure the real-life check matches the paperwork.

That means:

• your probe thermometer is easy to find
• your team know where it is
• your team know how to use it
• checks are done before they are written down
• someone can confidently demonstrate the process if asked

It sounds basic, but this is exactly the sort of thing that exposes whether a system is real or just written down because it is meant to be.

The Serious Lesson

Records are only useful if they reflect what is really happening.

If a business cannot show how it took the temperatures it has recorded, those records lose credibility very quickly.

So do not just ask whether the checks are recorded.

Ask whether they can be demonstrated.