How long does food last in freezer during power outage

After the storm Friday night, many homes in and around the Triangle area were left without power. This also means that the food in the fridge and freezer was at risk of spoiling.

Table of Contents Show

9 easy ways keep your food safe when your power goes out
Keep the refrigerator door closed for as long as possible.
Buy appliance thermometers to keep inside your refrigerator and freezer.
Keep extra ice in your freezer and freeze bottles of water.
Transfer items from your refrigerator to your freezer.
Keep a cooler or two handy in case of a prolonged power outage.
Don't try to keep your food cold by storing it outdoors.
Stock up on shelf-stable foods that will stay good for a long time.
Make sure to have charcoal or propane on hand if you have an outdoor grill.

It's important to know how long you have after a power outage starts before food is no longer safe to eat.

According to

FoodSafety.gov,

"your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers after 4 hours without power."

Fortunately, food in the freezer lasts longer than items in the refrigerator. "A full freezer will hold a safe temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full and the door remains closed). Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below, however, its quality may suffer," the FoodSafety article also indicates.

Keys to keeping food safe for a longer period of time during an outage:

* Keep frozen bottles of water in the freezer to fill it up. A full freezer will keep food at a safe temperature for twice as long as a half full freezer. As you can see in the photo below, used tea bottles were filled with water and frozen to help fill this freezer and keep it cool during outages.

* Do not open the doors to the refrigerator or freezer during the outage, if possible.

* During a lengthy outage, buy bags of ice to keep the refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible.

* Place appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer so you can check the temperature once the power comes back on and determine if the food is still safe to consume.

After the power has come back on, "if the freezer thermometer reads 40° F or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, eggs, or leftovers) that has been at refrigerator temperatures above 40°F for 4 hours or more. Perishable foods with temperatures that are 45°F or below (measured with a food thermometer) should be safe, but should be cooked and consumed as soon as possible", according to the

FDA.

See the

FDA website

for additional information on preparing for power outages and for determining food safety once power is restored.

See a list of specific foods, and when they need to be discarded after an outage, at

FoodSafety.gov.

During and after a prolonged power failure, the foods you keep in the refrigerator and freezer may become unsafe to eat. Bacteria can build up in perishable foods which may cause foodborne illness. The most common symptoms of foodborne illness may include stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. While the power is out, keep the freezer and refrigerator doors closed-avoid opening and closing the doors to check the food inside. Food will keep for 24 to 48 hours in the freezer and for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge.

If your power has been out for 24 hours, all food in your refrigerator must be disposed of; after 48 hours, all food in both your refrigerator and freezer must be thrown out and the appliance cleaned and sanitized.

Here is some advice to help in making sure your food is stored safely if the power goes out:

Your freezer:

Without electrical power, a full upright or chest freezer will keep food frozen for about 2 days.
A half-full freezer will keep food frozen for 1 day.
Ice could help to keep the freezer remain cold.
Throw out any thawed food that has been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Partial thawing and refreezing may reduce the quality of some food, but it will remain safe to eat.

Your refrigerator-freezer combination:

Without electrical power, the refrigerator section will keep food cool for 4-6 hours. Ice could help to keep refrigerator cool.
Throw out any food with a strange colour or odour as soon as possible.
Make sure raw meat, poultry or fish are wrapped very well and placed in the coldest section of your refrigerator.

Your medication:

If you need information on proper storage of your prescription drugs that require refrigeration, such as insulin, call your doctor or local pharmacist.

If you need information on proper storage of your prescription drugs that require refrigeration, such as insulin, call your doctor or local pharmacist.

This information is also available for downloading.

For more information: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

9 easy ways keep your food safe when your power goes out

Updated

2022-09-27T15:52:35Z

Be careful when eating perishable foods during a power outage. Shutterstock

There are a few ways to keep your food safe to eat in the fridge and freezer during a power outage.
Keeping a thermometer in your fridge and freezer will help track when your food will start to spoil.
Having a cooler on hand and a stocked pantry of nonperishables will also help.

Keep the refrigerator door closed for as long as possible.

The fridge will stay colder if you keep the door closed. Nattanee.P/Shutterstock

One of the most important things you can do during a power outage is to keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in a power outage, a closed refrigerator will stay cold for up to four hours and a closed freezer will keep its temperature for 24 hours if it is half-full and 48 hours if it's full.

During the first few hours after a power outage, you should eat shelf-stable foods and keep drinks in a cooler so that you don't have to keep opening the refrigerator doors.

Buy appliance thermometers to keep inside your refrigerator and freezer.

Your fridge should be below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Wikimedia Commons

According to the USDA, you should always keep your refrigerator at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Keeping appliance thermometers inside both your refrigerator and freezer is a great way to be proactive in the event of a power outage. It will be able to tell you when the fridge or freezer has warmed to an unsafe point without any power.

Keep extra ice in your freezer and freeze bottles of water.

Frozen bottles of water will help to keep food cold for longer. Flickr/Heather Dowd

Buy extra bags of ice to keep in your freezer to help maintain its temperature, and to use later if you have to transfer your food into a cooler.

If your freezer has an ice maker, empty the ice cubes into gallon-sized storage bags each time the tray is full.

You can also consider buying dry ice in the event of a power outage. Fifty pounds of dry ice will keep a closed freezer or a cooler cold for between 18 and 24 hours. Just be sure to handle it safely and avoid touching it with your bare hands.

The USDA also recommends keeping bottles of water in your freezer. Not only will this help keep frozen food cold longer, but also you will also have a supply of fresh drinking water in case your water supply becomes contaminated.

If water bottles are in short supply, which often happens when a storm is approaching, freeze fresh water in clean, quart-sized storage bags or food-safe plastic containers.

Transfer items from your refrigerator to your freezer.

The freezer can keep the food safer for longer. Shutterstock/ takoburito

If there is a possibility of a power outage, the FDA also suggests transferring some of your refrigerated food to your freezer to keep it at a safe temperature for a longer period of time.

Items such as milk, meats, and leftovers that you don't need immediately can be safely transferred to the freezer during a power outage.

Keep a cooler or two handy in case of a prolonged power outage.

It doesn't hurt to have some extra coolers. Stanley

If it looks as though your power will be out for more than two to four hours, the American National Red Cross recommends packing refrigerated food into a cooler. You'll want the temperature to stay at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so make sure the cooler is packed with ice.

If the power is going to be out for more than a day, prepare a second cooler for your freezer items.

Any food that has been exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours, or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for more than one hour, should be thrown away.

Don't try to keep your food cold by storing it outdoors.

Leaving food outside can attract animals. iStock

If your power goes out during a winter storm, you may be tempted to keep some of your food outside in the ice or snow, but it isn't a good idea.

According to the USDA, the temperatures outside can fluctuate hour to hour depending on how much sunlight there is, which will cause the food to spoil. It can also attract wild animals looking for a meal.

Stock up on shelf-stable foods that will stay good for a long time.

Make sure you also have food on hand that won't spoil for a while. Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock

Try to keep your pantry stocked with nonperishable foods, and make sure you have a manual can opener since an electric one without batteries will not work if the power goes out.

Things like cans of beans and vegetables can last on the shelf for two to five years according to the USDA's FoodKeeper app. Other staples that will last for a while include peanut butter, rice, oatmeal, and dried legumes.

Make sure to have charcoal or propane on hand if you have an outdoor grill.

You can grill thawing food if it's safe to be outside. Merrimon Crawford/Shutterstock

Don't forget to stock up on charcoal or propane if you have an outdoor grill. If your meat is starting to thaw in your fridge or freezer, having a working grill can save you from having to throw it all out.

Food that is beginning to thaw, but is still at a safe temperature, should be cooked first. Before cooking, check each item separately. Any food that feels warm to the touch or has an unusual odor, color, or texture should be thrown out.

Use a food thermometer to make sure each item is cooked to a safe internal temperature to kill any foodborne bacteria. Foodsafety.gov recommends that beef, veal, lamb, pork, and ham be cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Poultry and ground meat mixtures should be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Read More: