Power Outage Food Safety: What to Know Before the Fridge Gets Warm

Food safety decisions are easier when you prepare before the power goes out. The goal is to reduce guesswork when stress is high.

Before an outage

• Put thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer.
• Keep ice and coolers available for temporary transfer if needed.
• Separate higher-risk foods so they are easier to evaluate.
• Write down key food-safety resources from CDC/FDA/USDA.

During an outage

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
• Write down the outage start time.
• Track temperature and duration, not just appearance.
• Move items to coolers with ice if temperatures rise.

Refrigerated-food safety depends on **time and temperature**. Freezer safety depends on temperature, how full the freezer is, and whether food still has ice crystals or remains cold. Follow official public-health guidance for keep/discard decisions.

Do **not** taste food to decide whether it is safe.

The HazardNow dashboard can help provide broader outage and public-signal context, but food safety decisions should follow official public-health guidance.

For household planning, review emergency preparedness and browse related readiness posts on the HazardNow blog.