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Six Steps to Keep Refrigerated Food Safe During a Power Outage

Keep the doors closed and record the outage time. Rough benchmarks are 4 hours for an unopened refrigerator and 48 hours for a full unopened freezer.

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Power-outage food safety depends on measured temperature and time, not a smell test. FoodSafety.gov states an unopened refrigerator stays cold for about 4 hours and a full freezer for about 48 hours (24 hours when half full). These are estimates, not guarantees; use extra caution with infant or medically specialized foods.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

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1. Record when the power fails and minimize opening the fridge and freezer. Check restoration information with the utility or building manager.
2. Before emergencies, maintain the refrigerator at 4°C (40°F) or below and freezer at -18°C (0°F) or below; keep appliance thermometers inside. Do not repeatedly open doors to check during an outage.
3. With doors closed, use about four hours for a refrigerator, 48 hours for a full freezer or 24 hours for a half-full one as rough estimates, not guarantees.
4. If the outage may persist, use a cooler and ice or frozen gel packs to hold perishables at 4°C or below. Follow ventilation and protective handling requirements for any dry ice.
5. After power returns, conservatively discard refrigerated meat, fish, eggs, dairy and leftovers following four hours or more without power. Also discard perishables above 4°C for at least two hours.
6. Frozen food may be refrozen or cooked if ice crystals remain or its measured temperature is 4°C or below. Never rely on appearance, odor or tasting to decide whether food is safe.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

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