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Editorial draft · Not published.

Home outage · United States

Power out: what to keep, what to throw out

When the power goes out, keep your refrigerator and freezer closed. Here is how long food stays cold, what you can keep, and what needs to go.

The short answer

  • Refrigerator: about 4 hours with the door closed.
  • Full freezer: about 48 hours. Half-full: about 24 hours, with the door closed.
  • Throw out perishable food that has been above 40 °F for 2 hours or more.
  • Refreeze only if the food still has ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below.
  • Never taste food to check whether it is safe.

Do this first

Close both doors and leave them closed; every opening lets the cold out. Keep a thermometer inside each appliance so you read the temperature instead of guessing. A refrigerator should stay at 40 °F or below and a freezer at 0 °F or below.

Do not taste food to decide whether it is safe. Food that would make you ill can look and smell completely normal. When in doubt, throw it out.

The refrigerator

Food in a closed refrigerator stays safe for about four hours. After that, and without ice or another cold source, throw out the perishable items: meat, fish, cut fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers. If the temperature has been above 40 °F for two hours or more, throw those out as well.

Not everything in the kitchen is perishable, and not all of it lasts the same time. The food safety chart below helps you check individual foods. If the power has been out for four hours and you have a cooler and ice, move the perishables into the cooler and add ice or a cold source to keep them at 40 °F or below.

The freezer

A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, a half-full one for about 24, as long as the door stays closed. After that, judge the food rather than the clock: you can refreeze or cook thawed frozen food if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below.

Throw out perishable food that has been above 40 °F for two hours or more. If you did not keep a thermometer in the freezer, check each package: you cannot judge thawed food by how it looks or smells.

Before the next outage

Keep a thermometer in both appliances, freeze water bottles or gel packs, and have a cooler ready. Know where you can get dry ice, and keep a few days of ready-to-eat food that needs no cooking or cooling. If you use a generator or a camping stove, run it outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and vents — never inside a home, garage or tent.

Read next: grid-down essentials · back to News

Sources

CDC food safety · CDC outage safety · FDA food safety · Ready.gov outages · FoodSafety.gov keep-or-throw-out chart

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