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Food Safety and Power Outages
Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save and When to Throw Out
Adapted from Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency (USDA).
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.If you 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 |