Prep

Power outage food checker

Tell us how long the power's been out. You'll see how long your refrigerator or freezer has left, and what to keep, refreeze or throw out, food by food.

When in doubt, throw it out. Never taste food to check it. Unsafe food can make you sick even if it looks and smells normal. The times here are limits for closed doors, and this tool can't tell you whether a particular food is safe. Throw out any food with an unusual smell, color or texture, and any food that may have touched flood water.

What's happened?

Check the
How long has it been off?
Hours without power
Is the power back?
The door

Key rules

  • Refrigerator: up to 4 hours with the door closed. At 4 hours, if you have a cooler and ice, move perishable food into it and keep it at 40°F or below.
  • No cold source after 4 hours: throw out perishable food such as meat, fish, cut fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers.
  • Freezer: up to 48 hours if full, 24 hours if half full, with the door closed.
  • Refreezing: safe if food still has ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, though quality may suffer. Ice cream and frozen yogurt go either way.
  • Food left out: discard perishable food held at room temperature for 2 hours or more, or 1 hour if outdoor temperatures are above 90°F.
  • Throw out any food with an unusual smell, color or texture, and any food that may have touched flood water.

From CDC, FoodSafety.gov and FDA advice. The food list follows on the next page.

Food by food

Answers below are for when the limit has passed: food exposed to 40°F or above for more than 2 hours.

Refrigerator

Meat, poultry, seafood

  • Raw or leftover cooked meat, poultry, fish or seafood; soy meat substitutes× THROW OUT
  • Thawing meat or poultry× THROW OUT
  • Salads: meat, tuna, shrimp, chicken or egg salad× THROW OUT
  • Gravy, stuffing, broth× THROW OUT
  • Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, dried beef× THROW OUT
  • Pizza with any topping× THROW OUT
  • Canned hams labeled “Keep Refrigerated”× THROW OUT
  • Canned meats and fish, opened× THROW OUT
  • Casseroles, soups, stews× THROW OUT

Cheese

  • Soft cheeses: blue, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, cottage, cream, Edam, Monterey Jack, ricotta, mozzarella, Muenster, Neufchatel, queso blanco, queso fresco× THROW OUT
  • Hard cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano✓ KEEP
  • Processed cheeses✓ KEEP
  • Shredded cheeses× THROW OUT
  • Low-fat cheeses× THROW OUT
  • Grated Parmesan, Romano or a combination (in a can or jar)✓ KEEP

Dairy

  • Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, eggnog, soy milk× THROW OUT
  • Butter, margarine✓ KEEP
  • Baby formula, opened× THROW OUT

Eggs

  • Fresh shell eggs, eggs hard-cooked in shell, egg dishes, egg products× THROW OUT
  • Custards and puddings, quiche× THROW OUT

Fruits

  • Fresh fruits, cut× THROW OUT
  • Fresh fruits, uncut✓ KEEP
  • Fruit juices, opened✓ KEEP
  • Canned fruits, opened✓ KEEP
  • Dried fruits, raisins, candied fruits, dates✓ KEEP
  • Sliced or shredded coconut× THROW OUT

Sauces, spreads, jams

  • Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradishChart: discard if above 50°F for more than 8 hours× THROW OUT
  • Peanut butter✓ KEEP
  • Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles✓ KEEP
  • Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, hoisin sauces✓ KEEP
  • Fish sauces, oyster sauce× THROW OUT
  • Opened vinegar-based dressings✓ KEEP
  • Opened creamy dressings× THROW OUT
  • Spaghetti sauce, opened× THROW OUT

Bread, cakes, cookies, pasta, grains

  • Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas✓ KEEP
  • Refrigerator biscuits, rolls, cookie dough× THROW OUT
  • Cooked pasta, rice, potatoes× THROW OUT
  • Pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinaigrette× THROW OUT
  • Fresh pasta× THROW OUT
  • Cheesecake× THROW OUT
  • Breakfast foods: waffles, pancakes, bagels✓ KEEP

Pies and pastry

  • Cream-filled pastries× THROW OUT
  • Pies with a filling containing eggs or milk, such as custard, cheese or chiffon; quiche× THROW OUT
  • Fruit pies✓ KEEP

Vegetables

  • Fresh vegetables, cut× THROW OUT
  • Fresh vegetables, uncut✓ KEEP
  • Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices✓ KEEP
  • Greens: pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged× THROW OUT
  • Vegetables, cooked× THROW OUT
  • Tofu, cooked× THROW OUT
  • Vegetable juice, opened× THROW OUT
  • Baked potatoes× THROW OUT
  • Commercial garlic in oil× THROW OUT
  • Potato salad× THROW OUT

Freezer

Meat, poultry, seafood

  • Meat, poultry, seafood: all types of cutsChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Stews, soupsChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT

Dairy

  • MilkChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Eggs (out of shell) and egg productsChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Ice cream, frozen yogurtChart: with ice crystals, discard. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Cheese (soft and semi-soft)Chart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Hard cheesesChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE
  • Shredded cheesesChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • CheesecakeChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT

Fruits

  • Fruit juicesChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE
  • Fruit, home or commercially packagedChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE

Vegetables

  • Vegetable juicesChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard after 6 hours above 40°F.× THROW OUT
  • Vegetables, home or commercially packaged or blanchedChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard after 6 hours above 40°F.× THROW OUT

Breads and pastries

  • Breads, rolls, muffins, cakes (without custard fillings)Chart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE
  • Cakes, pies, pastries with custard or cheese fillingChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Pie crusts, commercial and homemade bread doughChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE

Other foods

  • Casseroles: pasta, rice-basedChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT
  • Flour, cornmeal, nutsChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE
  • Breakfast items: waffles, pancakes, bagelsChart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, refreeze.✓ REFREEZE
  • Frozen meals and entrees (pizza, sausage and biscuit, meat pie, convenience foods)Chart: with ice crystals, refreeze. Thawed, discard.× THROW OUT

From preppantry.app. Checked 2 November 2026. Independent tool, not official advice.

How it works

The refrigerator. The CDC says food stays safe for up to 4 hours in a refrigerator if the door stays closed. After 4 hours without power or a cold source like ice, throw out perishable food: meat, fish, cut fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and leftovers. If you have a cooler and ice, move perishable food at the 4-hour mark and keep it at 40°F or below.

The thermometer. FoodSafety.gov's chart is about temperature: food exposed to 40°F or above for more than 2 hours. So an appliance thermometer can change the answer in both directions. Below 40°F, food can stay even past 4 hours. At 40°F or above, you have 2 hours, not 4, and we count them from when the power went off because we can't tell when it warmed up. The sources overlap at exactly 40°F, and the CDC and FDA say 40°F or below while the chart says 40°F or above. We take the stricter side.

The freezer. The CDC says food stays safe for up to 48 hours in a full freezer and 24 hours in a half-full one, with the door closed. FoodSafety.gov says food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, though its quality may suffer. Ice cream and frozen yogurt go either way. There's no official time for a freezer emptier than half full, so we use 24 hours and you should check it sooner.

When we can't tell, we say throw it out. 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 refrigerator that's running again reads cold whatever happened to the food. A freezer that has been running again can refreeze thawed food too, so if you can't tell whether it thawed, choose “not sure”. The FDA's page gives a looser limit for refrigerated food, 4 hours above 40°F. We use the chart's stricter 2 hours, which Ready.gov shares.

Example: the power's been out for 5 hours, the door stayed closed, and you have no thermometer. Milk, deli meat, eggs and leftovers go. Butter, hard cheese, ketchup and uncut fruit can stay, as the chart allows. A full freezer has an estimated 43 hours left, so leave it closed. With a reading of 38°F, everything in the refrigerator could stay.

Food that's been left out. The FDA says to discard perishable food held at room temperature for 2 hours or more, or 1 hour if outdoor temperatures are above 90°F. For a long outage, the FDA says 50 pounds of dry ice should keep an 18 cubic foot, fully stocked freezer cold for two days. The CDC also suggests block ice for the refrigerator.

Common questions

How long is food safe in the refrigerator without power?

Up to 4 hours with the door closed, according to the CDC. After that, throw out perishable food unless a thermometer shows it's still below 40°F, or it has been kept cold with ice.

The power was out for 8 hours. Is my milk safe?

Not unless a thermometer shows it stayed below 40°F. Milk is on FoodSafety.gov's discard list after more than 2 hours at 40°F or above, and 8 hours is past the CDC's 4-hour limit. Don't taste it to check.

How long will a freezer keep food frozen without power?

Up to 48 hours if it's full and 24 hours if it's half full, with the door closed. Check each item once the power's back.

Can I refreeze food after a power outage?

Yes, if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, though its quality may suffer. Ice cream and frozen yogurt should be thrown out either way. Food that's thawed and been above that for more than 2 hours mostly goes, with exceptions on the chart like bread, flour and hard cheese.

What about eggs and cheese?

Eggs and egg dishes are on the discard list. Hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Swiss and Parmesan can be kept, along with processed cheese. Soft, shredded and low-fat cheeses go. The chart counts Edam and Monterey Jack as soft.

What about medicine that needs to stay cold?

Ready.gov says that if the power is out for more than a day, discard any medication that should be refrigerated, unless the drug's label says otherwise, and to talk to your doctor or pharmacist right away about a new supply. Get specific advice ahead of time for any medicine that's critical for life.

Sources

Checked on 2 November 2026. This is an independent tool and not official advice. See sources and method.

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