Food Safety During Power Outages: Here's When To Save It, When To Throw It Out, USDA Says

After Tropical Depression Ida brought power outages to the region, some may be wondering what to do with the food stored in the refrigerator.

Frozen food
Photo Credit: *ElasticComputeFarm / Pixabay*

Nicole Valinote

09/02/2021 2:40 p.m.

United States Department of Agriculture said fridges keep food safe for up to four hours during a power outage.

The department said people should keep the fridge door closed as much as possible, and discard perishable foods after four hours without power. This means discarding foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

US agencies said individuals should never taste food to try to determine if it has gone bad.

Find a chart showing which foods are safe to keep and which should be discarded on FoodSafety.gov, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

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