Cold Facts about Food Safety

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How Long Is Too Long? 

Even when your refrigerator and freezer are chilling foods at the right temperatures, and you've followed all the other rules for safe storage, there are limits to how long you can safely store foods in the refrigerator. (Foods will stay safe indefinitely in the freezer, but quality/taste of the food may be affected.)

Download this: Handy chart of safe refrigeration times for common foods.(PDF, 22 KB)

In Case of Disaster...

If your home loses power because of natural disaster — as so many people experienced during the terrible hurricanes of 2005 — how do you know what foods you can safely keep and eat?

·         If you have adequate warning that you may lose power, place blocks of ice in your freezer and fridge before power goes out.

·         If you do lose power, keep the doors to your fridge and freezer closed as much as possible to keep foods cold.

·         Before using any foods, check your refrigerator and freezer thermometers. If the fridge is still at or below 40 °F, or the food has been above 40 °F for only two hours or less, it should be safe to eat.

·         Frozen food that still has ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below (to be sure, check the appliance thermometer or use a food thermometer to check each individual food package) can be safely refrozen or cooked.

·         If you're unsure how long the temperature has been at above 40 °F, don't take a chance. Throw the food out.

More FDA Tips. . .