Free tool, no sign-up
Power Outage Food Safety Checker: Keep It or Throw It Out?
Pick the fridge or freezer, enter how long the power was out and choose the food. You get the government’s verdict for that exact item, and how much time you have left if the power is still off.
- 54 fridge food groups, 20 freezer
- USDA’s 4-hour and 48/24-hour rules
- Refreeze check for thawed food
- Countdown while the power is still out
Verdicts from FoodSafety.gov’s power outage charts (reviewed August 8, 2024) and USDA FSIS.
Where was the food?
How full was the freezer?
The rules
What the checker follows
Every verdict comes from two government sources: FoodSafety.gov’s refrigerated and frozen food charts for power outages, and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s emergency guidance. The checker applies them item by item, so you don’t have to read two charts in the dark.
Why two numbers
4 hours or 2 hours: which one applies?
Both, and they measure different things. The 4 hours is how long the USDA says a refrigerator keeps food safe during an outage if you keep the door closed. The 2 hours is the heading on FoodSafety.gov’s chart: it gives a verdict for food exposed to 40°F or above for more than 2 hours.
FoodSafety.gov puts them together in one sentence at the top of its chart: discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers after 4 hours without power. So the checker treats everything as safe for the first 4 hours, then applies the chart’s verdict for your item.
The one way around the clock is a cooler. If you move food into a cooler with enough ice or gel packs to hold 40°F or below before the 4 hours are up, the USDA says it stays safe. Keep adding ice as it melts.
“Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers after 4 hours without power.”
FoodSafety.gov, Food Safety During Power Outage, reviewed August 8, 2024
From Reddit
Two real outages, run through the checker
These threads ask the question this tool answers. The replies mix good advice with guesses, so we’ve put each one against the charts.
“What food stays good in fridge after power outage?”
“my husband and I have lost 2 fridgefuls of food this year due to extended power outages.”
Original post on r/Frugal, June 2025, 92 comments. The outages ran 6 and 20 hours.“DO NOT open a refrigerator/freezer during a power outage unless you are moving everything to ice chests. A closed refrigerator is an ice chest.”
Reply with 196 points“Get a wireless fridge thermometer that is capable of keeping records, to show you the highest temp the fridge got”
Another reply in the same threadOur take: at 6 and at 20 hours the perishables go, but a fridgeful isn’t all perishables. The chart’s keep list includes hard and processed cheese, butter, condiments and pickles, peanut butter, opened fruit juice, uncut fruit and vegetables, bread and tortillas. To save the perishables too, they have to reach a cooler with ice before the 4 hours are up. A recording thermometer fits the USDA’s advice to keep an appliance thermometer in the fridge.
“Food in fridge after power outage”
“I get off work in the morning, and it will have been about 12-13 hours”
Firefighter on a 24-hour shift, nobody home to start the generator, r/Cooking, November 2022“As long as the fridge isn’t opened you should be ok.”
Reply in the same thread“Whole milk takes 12 hours to spoil at 70F.”
Another replyOur take: the charts disagree with both replies. A closed door is what gets you the first 4 hours, not 12. At 12 to 13 hours, FoodSafety.gov’s chart says to discard milk, meat, eggs and leftovers, opened or not. Pick milk in the checker with 12 hours and you’ll get “Throw it out”. The keep-list items above are still fine.
Quotes are from public Reddit threads. They’re owners’ experiences, not food safety guidance.
Read the fine print
Surprises in the official chart
Most of the chart is what you’d guess: meat, milk and leftovers go. These are the rows that catch people out, side by side with the food they get confused with.
All pairs are from FoodSafety.gov’s refrigerated and frozen food charts, reviewed August 8, 2024.
Freezer
Can I refreeze it? The freezer chart
The USDA says a full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours and a half-full one about 24, with the door closed. After that, check item by item. Food that still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below can be refrozen, though the quality may suffer.
Frozen food after a power outage
Two columns, two situations: the food is still icy, or it has been at 40°F or above for more than 2 hours.
| Food | Still has ice crystals, feels fridge-cold | At 40°F or above for over 2 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, poultry, seafood, all cuts | Refreeze | Discard |
| Stews, soups | Refreeze | Discard |
| Milk | Refreeze (some loss of texture) | Discard |
| Eggs out of shell, egg products | Refreeze | Discard |
| Ice cream, frozen yogurt | Discard | Discard |
| Soft and semi-soft cheese | Refreeze (some loss of texture) | Discard |
| Hard cheese | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Shredded cheese | Refreeze | Discard |
| Cheesecake | Refreeze | Discard |
| Fruit juice | Refreeze | Refreeze; discard if mold, a yeasty smell or sliminess develops |
| Fruit, home or commercially packaged | Refreeze (texture and flavor change) | Refreeze; discard if mold, a yeasty smell or sliminess develops |
| Vegetable juice | Refreeze | Discard after 6 hours above 40°F |
| Vegetables, packaged or blanched | Refreeze (texture and flavor loss) | Discard after 6 hours above 40°F |
| Bread, rolls, muffins, cakes without custard filling | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Cakes, pies, pastries with custard or cheese filling | Refreeze | Discard |
| Pie crusts, bread dough | Refreeze (some quality loss) | Refreeze (considerable quality loss) |
| Pasta or rice casseroles | Refreeze | Discard |
| Flour, cornmeal, nuts | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Waffles, pancakes, bagels | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Frozen meals and entrees (pizza, meat pie, convenience foods) | Refreeze | Discard |
Source: FoodSafety.gov Food Safety During Power Outage, frozen food chart, reviewed August 8, 2024.
Be ready
Before the next outage: a 10-minute setup
Most of the hard calls after an outage come from not knowing the temperature. These steps from the USDA’s emergency guidance make the next one easy to judge.
Put a thermometer in each
The USDA says to keep an appliance thermometer in both the refrigerator and the freezer: the fridge at 40°F or below, the freezer at 0°F or below. After an outage it’s the only way to know where things stand.
Have a cooler and gel packs
A large insulated cooler and frozen gel packs let you beat the 4-hour clock. The USDA also suggests finding out ahead of time where you can buy dry ice and block ice.
Know the dry ice math
50 lb = 2 daysThe USDA says 50 pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot freezer for 2 days. Don’t touch it with bare hands or put it in direct contact with food.
In the freezer, the USDA notes that food in the front, in the door, or in small, thin packages thaws faster than large, thick items at the back or bottom. Check those first. Source: USDA FSIS, Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies, checked October 25, 2026.
FAQ
Power outage food questions
What is the 4-hour rule for food?
The USDA says a refrigerator keeps food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage if the door stays closed. After 4 hours without power, discard perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers, unless it went into a cooler that held 40°F or below.
How long will eggs last in a fridge without power?
Up to 4 hours with the door closed. FoodSafety.gov’s chart lists fresh shell eggs, hard-cooked eggs, egg dishes and egg products as discard once they’ve been at 40°F or above for more than 2 hours.
How long will milk last without power?
The same 4 hours. Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, eggnog and soy milk are all on the chart’s discard list after more than 2 hours at 40°F or above. Butter and margarine can stay.
What foods spoil fastest without power?
The charts don’t rank foods by speed. What they do say is which items must go once they’ve been warm: meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, cut produce, cooked leftovers and creamy sauces. In the freezer, the USDA says small, thin packages and food at the front or in the door thaw first.
Can I refreeze food that thawed in a power outage?
If it still has ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, yes, though the quality may suffer. The exception is ice cream and frozen yogurt, which the chart says to discard either way.
Can I taste or smell food to check it?
No. Both sources say never to taste food to decide whether it’s safe. The USDA does say to throw out anything with an unusual odor, color or texture, but the charts decide by food type and time, not by smell, so a normal smell doesn’t put warm meat back on the keep list. When in doubt, throw it out.
Want the full background? Read our guide to how long food lasts in the fridge without power.
Last checked October 25, 2026, against FoodSafety.gov’s charts (reviewed August 8, 2024) and the USDA FSIS emergency guidance. This tool sorts food by those published charts. It isn’t medical advice.
More free tools: see all our appliance repair tools.