Power Outage? Essential Food Safety Tips for Your Fridge and Freezer

Expert tips to avoid getting sick from spoiled food when the lights go out

Aaron Kassraie,

AARP

Comments

En español

Published June 07, 2021

/ Updated July 08, 2024

thermometer used to measure the air temperature inside a fridge freezer.

PHOTOCRITICAL/GETTY IMAGES

Natural disasters like hurricanes and heat waves significantly increase the risk of power outages. In the wake of such events, initial worries typically focus on long-term issues like cleanup, financial recovery and insurance claims. Yet, in the immediate aftermath, a critical concern might be if you have anything left in your house that is safe to eat.

Extended power outages can lead to food spoilage, and while the financial hit from losing a fridge full of food is hard to swallow, the hit your health can take from food poisoning — particularly if you’re older — is even harder to bear.

“Older adults, especially those 65 or older, are at higher risk from severe illness from the germs that cause food poisoning,” the CDC says. “In fact, nearly half of people 65 or older diagnosed with a foodborne illness like salmonella, E. coli, campylobacter or listeria are hospitalized.”

During a power outage, it’s critical to understand how long the food in your refrigerator and freezer will stay safe to eat. And knowing how to assess your food’s safety and maximize its shelf life is just as crucial. Follow these tips from federal food-safety experts to avoid getting sick from spoiled food when you lose power.

Before a power outage

Keep the refrigerator at or below 40°F and the freezer at 0°F or less. This will allow you to maintain the quality of your food longer if you lose electricity. Once the internal temperature of refrigerated and frozen foods goes above 40 degrees, germs that cause foodborne illnesses can begin to multiply.

Buy dry ice or block ice to help keep your food cold in the refrigerator longer. Having a cooler and frozen gel packs on hand may be helpful if you need to remove food from the fridge to keep it cold. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep a fully stocked 18-cubic-feet freezer cold for two days, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Freeze perishable foods like milk, meat and leftovers. Cluster everything in your freezer together so it will stay colder for a longer period of time during a power outage.

During a power outage

Keep your freezer and refrigerator doors shut as much as possible. Food can stay safe for up to 48 hours in a full freezer, 24 hours in a freezer that’s half full, and up to four hours in the refrigerator.

Transfer refrigerated food to a cooler if power has been out for four hours. Keep the temperature in the cooler at 40 degrees or below with the help of ice or a frozen gel pack.

After a power outage

Never taste food to check if it’s still good. There can still be germs that cause food poisoning even if the food looks, smells or tastes normal.

Refreeze or cook frozen foods if they still contain ice crystals or read below 40°F on a food thermometer. Otherwise, throw out foods that are too warm or have an odd smell, texture or color.

Throw out perishable food. Be especially attentive to foods like meat, fish, cut fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers if the power is out longer than four hours without an additional cold source. If you experienced flooding, throw away any food that came in contact with floodwater.

Clean and sanitize kitchen items and surfaces that have been flooded such as dishes, utensils, a refrigerator drawer or kitchen countertops. Wash first with clean, soapy water, then sanitize with a bleach solution (mix 1 cup of unscented household chlorine bleach with 5 gallons of clean water). Throw out wooden cutting boards because they cannot be properly sanitized.

Food that is safe to keep if above 40 degrees for more than two hours

Hard cheeses (cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano)
Processed cheese
Grated Parmesan and/or Romano in a jar or can
Butter, margarine
Uncut fresh fruit
Fruit juices
Canned fruit
Dried fruit, raisins, candied fruit, dates
Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish (unless above 50 degrees for more than eight hours)
Peanut butter
Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, ketchup, olives, pickles
Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, hoisin sauces
Vinegar-based dressings
Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, tortillas
Waffles, pancakes, bagels
Fruit pies
Uncut vegetables
Mushrooms, herbs, spices

Frozen food that is safe to refreeze if thawed and above 40 degrees for more than two hours

Home-frozen or packaged fruit (unless mold or slime develops)
Home, commercially packed or blanched vegetables (discard after six hours)
Breads, rolls, muffins (without custard fillings)
Pie crusts, commercial and homemade bread dough
Flour, cornmeal, nuts
Waffles, pancakes, bagels

Source: FoodSafety.gov

%{postComment}%

Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English. 