Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save and When to Throw Out
Is food in the refrigerator safe during a power outage? It should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers) that have been above 40 °F for over 2 hours.
Never taste food to determine its safety! You can’t rely on appearance or odor to determine whether food is safe.Note: Always discard any items in the refrigerator that have come into contact with raw meat juices.
You will have to evaluate each item separately. Use this chart as a guide.
Source: Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save and When to Throw Out | FoodSafety.gov
