How long is refrigerated or frozen food safe after a power outage? (2024)

If you experienced a prolonged power outage, you're likely wondering how long your food will stay safe to eat in a refrigerator or freezer.

Cold temperatures keep harmful bacteria from growing. Once temperatures start to climb, the risk of bacteria growing increases and so does the likelihood of food poisoning.

Below is a guide, summarized from information published by the USDA and FoodSafety.gov, both recommend its use over tasting food to determine if it's safe to eat.

The USDA said refrigerators will keep food safe for up to four hours during a power outage. After that, perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and cooked leftovers should all be put in the garbage.

Soft cheeses, like mozzarella, brie, blue, or queso fresco should get tossed but hard cheeses, such as cheddar, Colby, Swiss and parmesan, can stay.

Butter can stay, but milk, buttermilk, yogurt and sour cream should go.

Uncut fresh fruits and vegetables can be kept, but if they've been cut they need to be tossed. Cooked veggies, packaged greens, cooked tofu, casseroles, soups, stews and potato salad should hit the trash.

You can keep opened peanut butter, jelly, olives, pickles and vinegar-based dressings but you should ditch the opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, fish sauce and any cream-based dressings.

Cooked tortillas, muffins, cakes, rolls, waffles, pancakes and bread are all OK. Uncooked biscuits, cookie dough, cooked pasta, rice or potatoes, cream-based desserts and pasta salads should be thrown away.

For items kept in the freezer, you'll have more time as long as the door stays closed. The USDA said a half-stocked freezer should keep food safe for 24 hours while a fully-stocked freezer can go for up to 48 hours. Food can be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 degrees or below.

If you've recently lost power, you could move some meats and other perishables to the freezer. It's also a good idea to fill empty plastic jugs with water and place them into empty spaces in the freezer to help take up more space.

If you've lost food due to a power outage, find out if you have coverage through your home insurance for spoiled food. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, some homeowners and renters policies will pay up to $500 for spoiled food if the power fails in certain circ*mstances – without paying a deductible.