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Discarding Food After a Power Outage

Key points

  • After the loss of power, refrigerated or frozen foods may not be safe to eat.
  • Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.
  • Your refrigerator will keep food safe up to 4 hours without power.
  • A full freezer will keep food safe for 48 hours and a half-full freezer will keep it safe for 24 hours.
  • When in doubt, throw it out.

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Discarding Food After a Power Outage PSAs

After the loss of power, refrigerated or frozen foods may not be safe to eat. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. If you do, your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours without power;

  • a full freezer will keep food safe for 48 hours;
  • a half-full freezer will keep it safe for 24 hours.

After 4 hours without power, throw out refrigerated foods like meat, fish, eggs, milk and leftovers.

  • Throw out any food with an unusual color, odor, or texture.
  • Never taste food to determine if it is safe to eat.

When in doubt, throw it out.

To learn more, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit cdc.gov/foodsafety.

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Content Source:
National Center for Environmental Health