Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save and When to Throw Out
Is food in the refrigerator safe during a power outage? It should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers) that have been above 40 °F for over 2 hours.
Never taste food to determine its safety! You can’t rely on appearance or odor to determine whether food is safe.
Note: Always discard any items in the refrigerator that have come into contact with raw meat juices.
You will have to evaluate each item separately. Use this chart as a guide.
| Food Categories | Specific Foods | Held above 40 °F for over 2 hours |
| MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD | Raw or leftover cooked meat, poultry, fish, or seafood; soy meat substitutes | Discard |
| Thawing meat or poultry | Discard | |
| Salads: Meat, tuna, shrimp, chicken, or egg salad | Discard | |
| Gravy, stuffing, broth | Discard | |
| Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, dried beef | Discard | |
| Pizza – with any topping | Discard | |
| Canned hams labeled “Keep Refrigerated” | Discard | |
| Canned meats and fish, opened | Discard | |
| Casseroles, soups, stews | Discard | |
| CHEESE | Soft Cheeses: blue/bleu, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, cottage, cream, Edam, Monterey Jack, ricotta, mozzarella, Muenster, Neufchatel, queso blanco, queso fresco | Discard |
| Hard Cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano | Safe | |
| Processed Cheeses | Safe | |
| Shredded Cheeses | Discard | |
| Low-fat Cheeses | Discard | |
| Grated Parmesan, Romano, or combination (in can or jar) | Safe | |
| DAIRY | Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, eggnog, soy milk | Discard |
| Butter, margarine | Safe | |
| Baby formula, opened | Discard | |
| EGGS | Fresh eggs, hard-cooked in shell, egg dishes, egg products | Discard |
| Custards and puddings, quiche | Discard | |
| FRUITS | Fresh fruits, cut | Discard |
| Fruit juices, opened | Safe | |
| Canned fruits, opened | Safe | |
| Fresh fruits, coconut, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, dates | Safe | |
| SAUCES, SPREADS, JAMS | Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish | Discard if above 50 °F for over 8 hrs. |
| Peanut butter | Safe | |
| Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles | Safe | |
| Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, hoisin sauces | Safe | |
| Fish sauces, oyster sauce | Discard | |
| Opened vinegar-based dressings | Safe | |
| Opened creamy-based dressings | Discard | |
| Spaghetti sauce, opened jar | Discard | |
| BREAD, CAKES, COOKIES, PASTA, GRAINS | Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas | Safe |
| Refrigerator biscuits, rolls, cookie dough | Discard | |
| Cooked pasta, rice, potatoes | Discard | |
| Pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinaigrette | Discard | |
| Fresh pasta | Discard | |
| Cheesecake | Discard | |
| Breakfast foods –waffles, pancakes, bagels | Safe | |
| PIES, PASTRY | Pastries, cream filled | Discard |
| Pies – custard, cheese filled, or chiffon; quiche | Discard | |
| Pies, fruit | Safe | |
| VEGETABLES | Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices | Safe |
| Greens, pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged | Discard | |
| Vegetables, raw | Safe | |
| Vegetables, cooked; tofu | Discard | |
| Vegetable juice, opened | Discard | |
| Baked potatoes | Discard | |
| Commercial garlic in oil | Discard | |
| Potato salad | Discard | |
| Casseroles, soups, stews | Discard |