If you experience an outage that lasts more than a few hours, use caution with your refrigerated or frozen food. Check with your local health department and remember the rule, “When in doubt, throw it out!”
The University of Illinois Extension Service says these foods should be discarded after four hours without power:
- Raw or cooked meat, poultry and seafood
- Milk, cream, yogurt and soft cheeses
- Cooked pasta and pasta salads
- Custard, chiffon and cheese pies
- Meat-topped pizza and lunch meats
- Casseroles, soups and stews
- Mayonnaise and tarter sauce
These foods should be safe for a few days without power:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Opened jars of salad dressing, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup and olives
- Hard and processed cheeses
