Power cut food checker

How it works

The fridge. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says a fridge stays cold for up to 4 hours, and a cut shorter than that is unlikely to affect the safety of chilled or frozen food. During a power cut, food can be kept in a fridge under 8°C. At 8°C or above, eat food that normally needs a fridge within 4 hours, then discard it, unless the power comes back within those 4 hours. Food Standards Scotland gives the same 4 hours and 8°C. A fridge thermometer changes the answer more than anything else here, because without a reading we have to assume the worst after 4 hours.

The freezer. Food stays frozen for up to 48 hours in a full freezer, or 24 hours if it's half full. The FSA calls these estimates, so look at the food as well. There's no official time for a freezer emptier than half full, so we use 24 hours and you should check it sooner.

Refreezing. The FSA's power cut advice doesn't cover refreezing. Food Standards Scotland is direct: do not refreeze food that has thawed while the power was cut. The FSA's general advice says to use food within 24 hours of it fully defrosting, and that you can freeze food again once cooked, but reheat it only once. So on this page nothing goes straight back in the freezer, even though the US chart would allow it.

Where each answer comes from. The times, the 8°C line and the refreezing rule are UK advice. The FSA doesn't publish a food-by-food list, so the list here is the US FoodSafety.gov chart, shown as extra guidance. It's written for 40°F (4°C), a stricter line than the UK's, so it never overrides the FSA. Food the chart would throw out, you throw away. Food the chart would keep gets “check label”, because the FSA says chilled food includes anything with a use-by date, anything marked “keep refrigerated”, and leftovers. If it's one of those, or you're not sure, throw it away.

When we can't tell, we say throw it away. That covers a door that was opened, a time you don't know, and a thermometer reading taken after the power came back, because a fridge that's running again reads cold whatever happened to the food. We count warm time from when the power went off, the longest it could have been. If someone at higher risk will eat the food, tick the box and everything the chart would keep is thrown away too. That's our own cautious reading. The FSA's list of precautions for these groups is shorter.

Example: the power went off 5 hours ago, the door stayed shut, and you have no thermometer. That's past 4 hours, so milk, cooked meat, leftovers and anything with a use-by date go. The full freezer has an estimated 43 hours left, so leave it shut. With a reading of 6°C, the fridge food could stay.

What to eat first, in the FSA's order: food that needs refrigeration, then defrosted frozen food that doesn't need cooking, then perishable food from the cupboard, then tins, bottles and dried food. If it's below 8°C outside you can store food outdoors, in a sealed box, clean and dry, out of direct sunlight and protected from animals. Food you can't eat in time can be shared with neighbours if it's been stored correctly.

The FSA's advice applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Food Standards Scotland publishes its own, which matches on these figures. Businesses should ask their local authority's food safety team.