What’s safe to eat during and after an outage
Whether food is safe to eat after a power outage depends on temperature and time, not smell or appearance. Here’s an honest decision framework based on USDA guidelines — and how to document losses for reimbursement.
The 2-2-2 rule for food safety means: discard food left at room temperature for 2 hours, refrigerate leftovers within 2 days, and reheat to 2 inches of depth. Here’s how it applies during a power outage.
Eggs in the shell can last up to 5 hours in a refrigerator during a power outage before risk increases. Here’s what you need to know about egg safety during outages, including why US eggs are different from European eggs.
Food in the fridge lasts up to 4 hours without power before the safety threshold of 40°F is breached. A full freezer lasts 48 hours. Here’s the complete food-by-food breakdown based on USDA guidelines.