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Power Outage Food Safety Center

Power's out. Keep or toss — food by food.

Select what's in your fridge and how long the power's been out — get USDA/FSIS verdicts for every item, plus a printable checklist to stick on the door before the next storm.

⏱ ~60 sec•USDA FSIS + FoodSafety.gov charts•Verified 2026-07-10•Storm center
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The FSIS rules

Doors closed: fridge 4 hours, full freezer 48, half-full 24.

Fridge
4 hrs
Full freezer
48 hrs
Half-full
24 hrs

The three rules (USDA FSIS)

  1. 01

    Keep doors closed

    A closed refrigerator stays safe ≈4 hours. A full freezer ≈48 hours; half-full ≈24.

  2. 02

    40°F is the line

    Perishables held above 40°F too long get discarded — meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, leftovers, cut produce.

  3. 03

    Verify, don't taste

    Pathogens don't change taste or smell. Use an appliance thermometer; when in doubt, throw it out.

Sources: USDA FSIS, Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies · FoodSafety.gov power-outage charts · last verified 2026-07-10.

What to toss — triage your fridge

1 · How long has the power been out?
2 · What's inside? (select all that apply)
3 · Verdicts
  • Toss
    Raw chicken
    Raw poultry: discard after 4+ hours without power (above 40°F).
    Refreeze only if it still contains ice crystals or is at or below 40°F; discard otherwise.
  • Toss
    Milk
    Milk, cream, sour cream, yogurt: discard after 4+ hours without power.
    Refreeze with ice crystals still present (some loss of texture); discard if held above 40°F.
  • Keep
    Butter
    Butter and margarine: safe to keep.
    Butter and margarine can be refrozen.

Verdicts follow the FSIS 4-hour rule and the FoodSafety.gov per-food charts — never taste to check.

The fridge-door checklist

  1. 01Keep fridge and freezer doors closed — every opening costs ≈30 minutes of safe time
  2. 02Fridge is safe up to 4 hours without power (door closed)
  3. 03Full freezer: safe ≈48 hours · half-full: ≈24 hours
  4. 04After 4+ hours: toss meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soft cheese, leftovers, cut produce
  5. 05Keep: butter, hard cheese, whole produce, bread, and high-acid condiments (ketchup, mustard, pickles)
  6. 06Refreeze only food that still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below
  7. 07Never taste food to check it — pathogens don't change taste or smell
  8. 08Use an appliance thermometer to verify: fridge ≤40°F, freezer ≤0°F
  9. 09Photograph discarded food for insurance claims before you toss it
  10. 10When in doubt, throw it out

USDA FSIS + FoodSafety.gov guidance, verified 2026-07-10 · fridge.com/tools/power-outage-center

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Newsrooms: embed this checklist free

Covering a storm? Drop the USDA checklist into any article — two lines of HTML, under 5 KB, no ads, no tracking, works during the outage.

<div id="fridge-power-outage-checklist"></div>
<script src="https://fridge.com/widgets/power-outage-checklist.js"></script>

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Questions

Frequently asked

Per USDA FSIS, a closed refrigerator keeps food at a safe temperature for up to 4 hours. After 4 hours without power, discard perishables — meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, soft cheeses, leftovers, and cut produce.
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Next step

Outage-prone area?

A full freezer holds safe temps twice as long as a half-full one. The right unit lets you sleep through a 48-hour outage without losing a thing.

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