These foods need to be thrown out if your fridge was without power for 4 or more hours

Jackie Starkey

A powerful storm which swept through Kentucky late Friday afternoon brought high wind gusts, rain and massive power outages across the state.

Power outages persisted well into Saturday morning, with nearly 400,000 without electricity as of 10:30 a.m., according to one outage tracker. Kentucky Utilities officials told the Herald-Leader they would not have an estimate for total restoration before Sunday.

Five Kentuckians have died as a result of the storm, Gov. Andy Beshear noted in a midday presser.

If you’ve lost power, especially for a prolonged period, we’ve compiled some tips of do’s and don’ts of what to do with your fridge contents, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

As a reminder, never do a taste test on defrosted food to determine whether or not it is safe to eat. When in doubt, throw it out, food safety officials advise.

During a power outage

Though it’s tempting, try to limit the number of times you open your fridge and freezer while the power is out. Closed doors will help preserve the lower temperatures, so don’t open the fridge if you can avoid it.

The food in the fridge will remain safe without power for up to four hours. If you find your power out for longer, consider transferring your perishables to a cooler with ice or ice packs. Perishable food must be kept at 40 Fahrenheit or cooler, so you will need to add ice to the cooler as it melts.

If your freezer is full, the goods there should remain safe up to 48 hours. That drops to 24 hours if the freezer is half full.

If you can access it, dry ice can be used to maintain the fridge and freezer temperatures for longer periods. The USDA says a 18-cubic-foot freezer can be kept cold by 50 pounds of dry ice for two days.

You can rearrange your freezer food to help prolong its life, as well. Thin products that defrost faster can be put near the door, while larger products can go along the back and bottom.

Food to discard after a power outage

Once the power is restored, a number of items should be discarded immediately if the power has been out in excess of four hours. They include:

  • Raw, cooked and leftover meat, poultry, fish, eggs and egg substitutes

  • Lunch meats and hot dogs

  • Casseroles, soups, stews and pizza

  • Mixed salads and cut fruits and vegetables

  • Dairy products

  • Cooked vegetables

  • Opened fruit and vegetable juices

  • Creamy salad dressings

  • Batters and doughs

  • Custard and cheese pies and cream-filled pastries

  • Garlic stored in oil

If the fridge temperature was above 50 Fahrenheit for more than four hours, condiments like mayonnaise, horseradish and tartar sauce should also be thrown away.

Throw away any food with a bad odor.

Foods safe to eat after a power outage

Some foods will survive an outage, the USDA says, including:

  • High-acid foods, including ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, jams, jellies, non-creamy salad dressing

  • Foods that don’t require refrigeration, unless they have an odor or are moldy.

How to remove that smell from your fridge

If food items have spoiled, there’s a chance your refrigerator smells like it. The USDA gives the following tips to make it smell fresh again:

  • Dispose of the rotten food and remove all food that remains safe.

  • Pull out the drawers, crispers, ice trays and other removable features and wash them with hot water and soap. You can make a sanitizing solution to rinse them in with 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water.

  • Thoroughly wipe down the inside of your fridge with hot water and baking soda, then rinse with the sanitizing solution. Don’t forget to wash the doors and hinges.

  • Leave the door or doors open for about 15 minutes before restocking the food that is safe to eat.

The federal agency has additional guidelines, including what to do for food safety in the event of a flood or fire, on its website.

You can get more information on food safety using the “Ask USDA” feature, also online.

Do you have a question about emergency safety in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.

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