The refrigerator light is on again. Does that mean the milk and leftovers are safe? No. Power restoration does not reconstruct the food’s temperature history. The useful decision depends on how long cooling stopped, whether the doors stayed closed, and what happened to each kind of food.
This page owns post-outage refrigerated food decisions. To set up normal readings, use the refrigerator/freezer temperature-check guide. For a separate freezer, see the FoodSafety.gov freezer decision chart.
First record the outage, not the grocery list
| Question | Evidence to collect |
|---|---|
| When did cooling stop and resume? | Utility notices, appliance/UPS log or household record |
| Did the door remain closed? | Known door openings, not a guess about others |
| Was there a thermometer inside? | Actual reading, location and timestamp |
| Was any perishable food moved to safe coolers? | Time and documented temperature |
| Did floodwater or smoke/chemical contamination affect storage? | Official local safety notice |
Under normal closed-door conditions, FoodSafety.gov says the refrigerator generally keeps food cold for about four hours. It says to discard refrigerated perishable foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers after four hours without power. Do not invent an extra grace period by assuming the refrigerator was “well insulated.”
Decide by food category
| Type of refrigerated food | Conservative decision to check against the official chart |
|---|---|
| Milk, yogurt, soft cheeses, fresh eggs, cooked leftovers | Usually discard when the outage exceeded the safe time or documented temperature exposure becomes unsafe |
| Cooked vegetables, cut fruit, tofu, prepared salad | Treat as perishable; review the exact FoodSafety.gov row |
| Uncut fruit/vegetables, plain bread, certain hard cheeses | Some category rows permit keeping; use the official chart for the specific item |
| Baby formula, special medical food, temperature-sensitive medicine | Follow the specific agency, label and care-provider instructions; do not infer from generic grocery advice |
| Food exposed to floodwater or suspected chemicals | Follow local disposal instructions; cold temperature does not make contamination safe |
The official table contains specific food-by-food rules—including rules based on exposure at or above 40°F (4°C) for longer than two hours. The closed-door four-hour rule and the recorded-temperature chart are different evidence paths; don’t swap one for the other.
Why smell, taste and the fridge dial do not help
Pathogens that cause illness may not produce an obvious smell or visible change. Never taste food to test safety. A thermostat setting is not a measured food temperature. A single reading when power returns may also miss earlier warming.
If there is no reliable time or temperature evidence for a highly perishable item, discard it rather than inventing a safe history. Do not use reheating or cooking to make food safe after an unknown or prolonged improper holding period.
Refrigerated-food outage decision card
| Food category | Time/temperature evidence | FoodSafety.gov chart decision | Action/date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy and eggs | |||
| Cooked meals | |||
| Produce/cut items | |||
| Pantry-type condiments | |||
| Medical/special needs |
Next action: open the FoodSafety.gov keep/discard chart and decide each perishable category before shopping or preparing another meal.