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To judge food after a power outage, combine how long the appliance was without power, whether its door stayed closed, any temperature information you have, and the food’s specific category in FoodSafety.gov’s official outage chart. A closed refrigerator may keep food safe for up to 4 hours; a closed, full freezer for approximately 48 hours, or a half-full freezer for approximately 24 hours. Those are practical estimates, not guarantees for every appliance or outage. Never taste food to check whether it is safe.
What to do during the outage
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Opening them lets cold air escape and makes the usual holding-time estimates less dependable.
If the outage may last longer than four hours, FoodSafety.gov advises moving refrigerated food to a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs and keeping it at or below 40°F (4°C). Keep enough ice or packs around the food to maintain that temperature.
How long a closed refrigerator or freezer may stay cold
| Appliance and condition | FoodSafety.gov guidance | How to use the estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator, door kept closed | Up to 4 hours | After that window, assess refrigerated items using their chart entries and known temperature exposure. |
| Full freezer, door kept closed | Approximately 48 hours | This is an approximate holding window, not a guarantee if the door was opened or conditions differed. |
| Half-full freezer, door kept closed | Approximately 24 hours | This is also approximate; account for the actual conditions and the food’s state. |
These estimates are from FoodSafety.gov’s chart, last reviewed August 8, 2024. They describe general guidance, not a measurement of your particular appliance or each item inside it. A current thermometer reading can help assess conditions, but if you do not know how warm food became or for how long, that reading cannot reconstruct its temperature history.
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How to assess refrigerated food after power returns
- Check what you know. Note the outage duration, whether the refrigerator stayed closed, and any thermometer readings or temperature records.
- Use the item-specific chart. FoodSafety.gov’s food safety during a power outage chart gives separate keep-or-discard guidance for specific refrigerated foods. Follow the entry for the actual food, rather than applying one blanket rule.
- Apply the temperature and time guidance in context. The chart’s general refrigerated-food decision point is exposure at or above 40°F (4°C) for more than two hours. The food-specific table matters: it marks many meat, poultry, seafood, egg, dairy, cooked-leftover, soft-cheese, and cut-produce items “Discard,” while several shelf-stable or hard-cheese items are marked “Keep.”
- Discard food when the chart says to. Do not taste an item to decide whether it is safe. Smell and appearance cannot establish that food is safe to eat.
The refrigerator target temperature is 40°F (4°C) or below. An appliance thermometer helps you check the temperature, but it does not replace the outage history or the chart’s item-specific instructions.
How to assess frozen food
Food that still has ice crystals or is at or below 40°F (4°C) can be refrozen, although its quality may decline. Check the frozen-food section of the official chart for the specific food: it treats different items separately and includes exceptions, such as ice cream and frozen yogurt. Do not assume that every thawed frozen food has the same outcome.
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The freezer target is 0°F (-18°C) or below. Use a freezer thermometer if available, and consider the food’s condition and known temperature history alongside the chart.
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Floodwater contact
Food that may have contacted floodwater should be discarded. Being cold does not remove contamination from floodwater, so assess this as a separate hazard from loss of refrigeration.
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Outdoor temperatures
Do not use the weather as an informal refrigerator or freezer. Outdoor temperatures can vary, and food can warm into unsafe ranges or thaw.
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- Keep appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and freezer so you can check temperatures.
- Know the targets: 40°F (4°C) or below in the refrigerator and 0°F (-18°C) or below in the freezer.
- Keep a cooler and ice or frozen gel packs available if you may need to keep food cold during an extended outage.
- Keep the official outage chart accessible so you can check the row for a particular food.
For the full refrigerated and frozen food tables, use FoodSafety.gov’s power-outage food safety chart. Its instruction is: “When in Doubt, Throw it Out!”
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