PrepHow long does a freezer stay cold without power?
By SGWNI. Checked on 2 November 2026.
A full freezer will hold a safe temperature for about 48 hours without power, and a half-full one for about 24 hours, if the door stays closed. The USDA, CDC and FDA all give these figures. After that, the question isn’t how long it has been. It’s how cold the food still is, and you can measure that.
The power outage food checker will walk you through it food by food. Here’s how the rules work.
The two tests that matter
The USDA says frozen food may be safely refrozen if it meets either of these tests:
- It still contains ice crystals.
- It’s at 40°F or below.
That’s why an appliance thermometer is worth having. Keep one in the freezer all the time, and check it as soon as the power comes back. Don’t rely on a reading taken later: a freezer that has been running again reads cold whatever happened while it was off. A freezer should normally be at 0°F or below.
Food stored constantly at 0°F will always be safe, the USDA says, and only the quality suffers with long storage. A thaw is what changes that. Once food thaws, any microbes in it can become active again and grow as they would on fresh food.
How to make the cold last longer
Before an outage:
- Freeze containers of water. They help keep food cold, and the FDA notes the melted ice can be used as drinking water.
- Keep food grouped together in the freezer.
- Freeze gel packs for coolers, and keep a cooler handy.
- Freeze milk, leftovers and fresh meat you won’t need right away, which the USDA says keeps them at a safe temperature longer.
- Find out where you can buy dry ice and block ice nearby.
- If a storm is on the way, the CDC suggests turning your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting.
During an outage:
- Keep the door shut.
- If the freezer isn’t full, the USDA suggests quickly grouping packages together. Keep meat and poultry apart from other foods so juices can’t drip onto them if they begin to thaw.
- If the outage will be long, add dry ice, block ice or bags of ice. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days. Another option is a friend’s freezer, if they still have power.
The freezer section of a refrigerator may not keep food frozen as long as a separate freezer.
What you can refreeze
This comes from the FoodSafety.gov chart. “Still cold” means it contains ice crystals and feels as cold as if refrigerated. “Warm” means it has been at 40°F or above for more than 2 hours.
| Food | Still cold | Warm |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, poultry, seafood | Refreeze | Discard |
| Stews, soups, casseroles | Refreeze | Discard |
| Frozen meals, pizza, meat pies | Refreeze | Discard |
| Milk, soft and semi-soft cheese | Refreeze, texture suffers | Discard |
| Eggs out of the shell | Refreeze | Discard |
| Shredded cheese, cheesecake | Refreeze | Discard |
| Cakes, pies or pastries with custard or cheese filling | Refreeze | Discard |
| Ice cream, frozen yogurt | Discard | Discard |
| Hard cheese | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Bread, rolls, muffins, cakes without custard | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Flour, cornmeal, nuts | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Waffles, pancakes, bagels | Refreeze | Refreeze |
| Pie crusts, bread dough | Refreeze, some quality loss | Refreeze, considerable quality loss |
| Fruit and fruit juice | Refreeze | Refreeze, but discard if mold, a yeasty smell or sliminess develops |
| Vegetables and vegetable juice | Refreeze, may lose texture and flavor | Discard after 6 hours above 40°F |
The chart is a general guide. Check each item on its own.
Refrigerated food runs on a shorter clock
Your refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours with the door closed. After that, the CDC says to move perishable food into a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs and keep it at 40°F or below. Perishable food that has gone 4 hours or more without power or a cold source should be thrown out, including meat, fish, eggs, milk, cut produce and leftovers.
After a flood
Temperature stops being the only question if water got in. The USDA and FDA say not to eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water, so frozen food that was touched by it goes out, however cold it still is.
Two rules that always apply
Never taste food to determine its safety. FoodSafety.gov, the CDC and the USDA all say this, because food that isn’t safe may look and smell fine.
When in doubt, throw it out.