Electricity Went Out How Long Will Food Last

Food stored in the refrigerator is still safe to eat if the power is out for no more than four hours.

Electricity went out how long will food last.

Refrigerated food and power outages. Freeze containers of water and gel packs to help keep your food at 40 f or below. From this study s result if the starting temperature in a refrigerator was 3 c the temperature of the food in the top shelf would become 5 9 c. If the power goes out the agency says one of the most important things is to keep the refrigerator.

Whether or not frozen food is safe to eat after a power outage or when a freezer has ceased to work depends on how long it has been defrosted and whether it has reached room temperature levels. As the usda notes in keeping food safe during an emergency your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage keep the door closed as much as possible. Which would be 2 9 c warmer than the food kept on the bottom shelf in the first 60 minutes of a power failure. Have a cooler and frozen gel packs handy in case you have to remove your food from the refrigerator to keep it cold.

Any longer than that and foods should be discarded. Keep the door to the refrigerator closed as much as possible and remember that full refrigerators stay colder longer than emptier ones. Foods will stay safely cold 4 to 6 hours in your refrigerator. Throw away any perishable food that has been at temperatures above 40 degrees.

Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat poultry fish eggs and leftovers after 4 hours without power. When to save it and when to throw it out. So your power went out for hours is the food from the refrigerator safe to keep. Around 60 percent of duke energy customers lost power in new hanover county following hurricane isaias and on wednesday morning thousands were still without leaving many wondering just how long will the food in my refrigerator keep source.

It can also attract wild animals looking for a meal. Foods can only be kept safely at warmer than 40 f for a couple of hours. 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. 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.

Buy dry ice or block ice to keep your food cold in the refrigerator if you think the power will be out for a long time. If the power goes out keep track of how long it s out.