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What About My Food When The Power Goes Out?

By Birdsong Sundstrom, UCCE Master Food Preserver

2 min read

We just went through a PGE Public Safety Power Outage and are looking forward to more possible outages as El Niño takes effect. What can you do about your refrigerated and frozen food storage when the power is out for several days? When do you need to throw out all of your food in the refrigerator so that it doesn’t sicken you? Let’s talk a bit about how to keep food safe under emergency conditions. While you want to open your refrigerator and freezer as little as possible during an outage, you will also need to get to your food! These points are from the FDA and UC Agricultural and Natural Resources (UCANR), with links provided below for additional information.

  1. Make sure you have appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer. Check to ensure that the freezer temperature is at or below 0° F, and the refrigerator is at or below 40° F. In case of a power outage, the appliance thermometers will indicate the temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer to help you determine if the food is safe.

  2. Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator, or coolers in case the power goes out. If your normal water supply is contaminated or unavailable, the melting ice will also supply drinking water.

  3. Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk, and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately. This helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.

  4. Group food together in the freezer. This helps the food stay cold longer.

  5. Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerated food cold if the power will be out for more than 4 hours.

  6. Purchase or make ice cubes in advance, and freeze gel packs ahead of time. Store all of these in the freezer for future use in the refrigerator or in coolers.

One handy trick to help you tell if your freezer defrosted at all, particularly if you weren’t home during the power outage, is the Penny Test. Fill a small cup with water and place it in the freezer. Once the water is completely frozen, place a penny on top of the ice. If you return home and find the penny still on top, your freezer’s contents remained frozen, and your food should be safe. If the penny has sunk to the bottom, it indicates that the food has defrosted and then refrozen, suggesting that it may not be safe to consume.

More information: