When the power goes out, the first job is simple: keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Each time we open a door, cold air escapes and food warms faster.
Food safety during an outage comes down to time and temperature. Smell, taste, and appearance cannot tell us if harmful bacteria have grown.
How Long Food Stays Cold
According to FoodSafety.gov guidance for power outages, an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours. A full freezer can stay cold for about 48 hours. A half-full freezer may stay cold for about 24 hours.
A simple refrigerator and freezer thermometer takes away much of the guesswork. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below before an outage begins.
What to Do When the Power Fails
Write down when the outage started. Then leave the doors shut. If the outage may last more than four hours, get ice and a cooler ready for meat, milk, eggs, leftovers, and other foods that spoil fast.
A well-insulated cooler for food and ice can help when the refrigerator is no longer cold enough. Pack it tightly and open it only when needed.
If storms are the reason for the outage, think beyond the kitchen. Our flash flood safety plan explains how to prepare for fast-rising water and other storm risks.
What to Keep and What to Toss
After about four hours without safe cooling, throw away perishable refrigerated foods that have been above 40°F for too long. This includes meat, poultry, seafood, milk, eggs, soft cheese, cooked food, and leftovers.
Frozen food is easier to judge. Food that still has ice crystals or measures 40°F or below can often be cooked or refrozen. Quality may drop, but the food can still be safe.
Never taste food to test it. When you are unsure how warm a risky food became or how long it stayed warm, tossing it is the safer choice.
Plan for a Longer Outage
For longer outages, backup power may save a freezer full of food. Our guide to portable power stations and generators compares the main choices. Fuel generators must always run outdoors and well away from doors and windows.
It also helps to keep shelf-stable meals on hand. The basic food planning used for backcountry camping offers useful ideas for simple foods that do not need refrigeration.
Do Not Forget Floodwater
A power outage and a flood can happen during the same storm. Food touched by floodwater is a different problem. Do not treat a sealed refrigerator or freezer as proof that everything inside is safe if floodwater reached the appliance.
Build a Simple Home Routine
Keep thermometers in both appliances. Freeze containers of water when you have room. Know where your coolers are. Keep ice packs frozen. Store a few meals that need no cooking or cooling.
If you often preserve garden produce or bulk food, our guide to home freeze-drying food covers another way to build food storage that does not depend on a working refrigerator.
Cold, Closed, and Measured
The best outage rule is easy to remember: keep it cold, keep it closed, and measure the temperature. A few cheap tools and a calm plan can save food and reduce risk.
When power returns, check temperatures before deciding what stays. If a high-risk food spent too long above 40°F, let it go. Replacing groceries is frustrating. Food poisoning is worse.