The Power Went Out: Do You Keep or Toss the Food in the Refrigerator?
It’s an age old question: “do I keep it or toss it?” This is of course pertaining to food in the fridge that’s been sitting there for a questionable period of time after a power outage. We refer you to our U.S. government guidelines on food safety, recommending just how long our refrigerators and freezers will hold their temperatures, as well as whether to keep or discard food kept inside during a power outage.
It’s generally recommended for safe food storage to keep your refrigerator at least 40 °F and your freezer at 0 °F or below. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) offers an informative fact sheet to help you maximize your fridge’s chilling power during a power outage. Leaving your fridge closed is a key part of keeping your food safe.
Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. – USDA FSIS.
The NSW Food Authority presents fascinating charts to highlight temperature loss and recovery times when opening the fridge even with the power on. They show just how devastating to temperature regulation opening the door can be for preparing meals, cleaning and stocking the fridge.
A study by UMass Amherst discovered that food kept on the top shelf warmed up quicker than food kept closer to the bottom.
It was seen consistently during the analysis of the data that the bottom full-gallon containers maintained temperature for the longest period of time. From this study’s result, if the starting temperature in a refrigerator was 3°C, the temperature of the food in the top shelf would become 5.9°C. which would be 2.9°C warmer than the food kept on the bottom shelf in the first 60 minutes of a power failure. From a practical stand point this means that the temperature in the top of the refrigerator would already be in the danger zone within the first hour. So it would be advisable and prudent to store fruits on the top shelves of a refrigerator during a crisis. This also reaffirmed the fact that the cold air would be always at the bottom of the refrigerator and hence it would be the coldest part in the refrigerator; hence, the best place to store meats would be the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
The USDA FSIS provides a great chart to help you answer the great debate of keeping food or throwing it out:
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Discard |
| CASSEROLES, SOUPS, STEWS | 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 |
| FROZEN FOOD | Still contains ice crystals and feels as cold as if refrigerated | Thawed. Held above 40 °F for over 2 hours |
| MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD Beef, veal, lamb, pork, and ground meats |
Refreeze | Discard |
| Poultry and ground poultry | Refreeze | Discard |
| Variety meats (liver, kidney, heart, chitterlings) | Refreeze | Discard |
| Casseroles, stews, soups | Refreeze | Discard |
| Fish, shellfish, breaded seafood products | Refreeze. However, there will be some texture and flavor loss. | Discard |
| DAIRY Milk |
Refreeze. May lose some texture. | Discard |
| Eggs (out of shell) and egg products | Refreeze | Discard |
| Ice cream, frozen yogurt | Discard | Discard |
| Cheese (soft and semi-soft) | Refreeze. May lose some texture. | Discard |
| Hard cheeses | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Shredded cheeses | Refreeze | Discard |
| Casseroles containing milk, cream, eggs, soft cheeses | Refreeze | Discard |
| Cheesecake | Refreeze | Discard |
| FRUITS Juices |
Refreeze | Refreeze. Discard if mold, yeasty smell, or sliminess develops. |
| Home or commercially packaged | Refreeze. Will change texture and flavor. | Refreeze. Discard if mold, yeasty smell, or sliminess develops. |
| VEGETABLES Juices |
Refreeze | Discard after held above 40 °F for 6 hours. |
| Home or commercially packaged or blanched | Refreeze. May suffer texture and flavor loss. | Discard after held above 40 °F for 6 hours. |
| BREADS, PASTRIES Breads, rolls, muffins, cakes (without custard fillings) |
Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Cakes, pies, pastries with custard or cheese filling | Refreeze | Discard |
| Pie crusts, commercial and homemade bread dough | Refreeze. Some quality loss may occur. | Refreeze. Quality loss is considerable. |
| OTHER Casseroles – pasta, rice based |
Refreeze | Discard |
| Flour, cornmeal, nuts | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Breakfast items -waffles, pancakes, bagels | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Frozen meal, entree, specialty items (pizza, sausage and biscuit, meat pie,convenience foods) | Refreeze | Discard |
Of course the best thing to do for your fridge and food is to restore power, or to never lose it in the first place. Finding the right emergency power generator can help you avoid losing your power and food. Also remember to keep your fridge running efficiently to save on energy costs and to keep your fridge running at its best.
MORE GENERATORS, REFRIGERATOR TIPS & TRICKS ON APARTMENT THERAPY
• How to Make Any Fridge More Efficient (Home Hacks)
• Get Off The Grid With Alternative Home Energy Sources
• How to Find The Right Emergency Power Generator