Chilled & refrigerated storage in Australia
1 facility states chilled storage across Australia.
Chilled storage, also called refrigerated storage, keeps products cold but above freezing, usually between 0 °C and 5 °C, in a refrigerated warehouse or cold store run by an operator. It suits fresh produce, dairy, meat, seafood, beverages and many ready-to-eat foods. This page is for storing stock with an operator, not for hiring a refrigerated container or building a cool room; compare temperature ranges, pallet capacity and storage terms, and check for frozen rooms if you need both.
How to choose chilled storage
- Exact range: chilled covers several settings, and some fresh produce needs a warmer room to avoid chill damage.
- Mixed products: ask whether products that need different settings are kept in separate rooms.
- Monitoring: how room temperatures are recorded and how fast staff respond to an alarm.
- Throughput: fresh stock moves fast, so check receiving and dispatch hours and daily cut-offs.
- Storage terms: the minimum period, short-term or contract storage, and the handling charge for each pallet in and out.
Chilled storage temperatures
Food rules and guidelines set the limits below; a product’s own specification can be stricter.
- Potentially hazardous chilled food: 5 °C or below, the limit in Food Standards Code Standard 3.2.2.
- Chilled food in general: never warmer than +5 °C and kept above 0 °C so it does not freeze, with storage at 0 °C to +4 °C recommended by the Australian Cold Chain Guidelines.
- Some fish, shellfish and modified-atmosphere packed meat: slightly colder than 0 °C, as the guidelines allow for these colder storage items.
- Tropical produce, cured meats, mature cheese and chocolate: warmer than standard chilled to avoid damage, with mature cheese keeping best at about 12–15 °C.
- Medicines that need refrigeration: +2 °C to +8 °C, a range set by health guidance rather than by the food rules.
Chilled or frozen storage?
Chilled storage is for goods sold or used within days or weeks; frozen storage, at −18 °C or colder, is for goods made or packed to keep for months. If you handle both, one facility with separate rooms saves a second contract, and frozen storage and freezer warehouses are compared on their own page.
Chilled storage by city
Refrigerated warehouses near each capital, filtered to the facilities that state a chilled range.
Chilled storage FAQs
What is chilled storage?
Chilled storage is temperature-controlled storage above freezing, normally 0 °C to 5 °C for food, in a refrigerated warehouse, cold store or cool room. It slows spoilage and bacterial growth without freezing the product, so it suits fresh food with a short to medium shelf life. Some products need their own setting, so check your specification before choosing a facility.
What temperature should refrigerated storage be?
For food, the Food Standards Code requires potentially hazardous chilled food to be kept at 5 °C or below, and the Australian Cold Chain Guidelines recommend holding chilled food between 0 °C and 4 °C. Some fresh produce is stored warmer to avoid chill damage. Medicines that need refrigeration are kept at 2–8 °C. Each facility here shows the temperature range it states.
What should I do if a chilled delivery arrives at 15 degrees?
Don’t accept it without checking. Under the Food Standards Code, potentially hazardous chilled food should be received at 5 °C or below. Measure the product temperature, not just the air, record the reading, and contact the supplier and carrier. Your food safety program sets what happens next, often rejection or a hold for assessment. Ask the carrier for the logger record of the trip.
Is refrigerated storage the same as hiring a cool room?
No. Refrigerated storage here means space in an operator’s cold store: the operator runs the rooms, receives and dispatches your pallets and records the temperature. Hiring a cool room or a refrigerated container puts the equipment on your own site, and you run it yourself. If you need cold space at your premises, look for refrigerated hire; to hand stock to an operator, compare the facilities on this page.
To move chilled goods to and from a store, filter refrigerated transport by Chilled.