Food safety during an outage

A closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours. A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours, a half-full one about 24. The rule that matters most: keep the doors shut.

Before the outage

• Put an appliance thermometer in both the fridge (40°F or below) and the freezer (0°F or below).
• Keep the freezer full. Frozen jugs of water fill gaps and double as ice for a cooler.
• Have a cooler and ice packs ready for medicines and essentials.

During the outage

• Open the doors as little as possible. Plan what you'll take out before opening.
• Group frozen food close together so it stays cold longer.
• After 4 hours, move milk, meat, leftovers and medicines into a cooler with ice.

After the power returns

• Refrigerated perishables (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, leftovers) above 40°F for more than 2 hours: throw them out.
• Frozen food that still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below can be refrozen or cooked. Quality may suffer, but it's safe.
• Check each item on its own. Never taste food to decide whether it's safe.