--- title: "What to do with the food when the refrigerator fails" description: "Two hours above 40°F is the FDA's line for perishables; a closed fridge holds about four, and a full, closed freezer about forty-eight." url: "https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/food-safety-when-a-refrigerator-fails/" date_modified: "2026-09-24" --- Safety and food # What to do with the food when the refrigerator fails For refrigerator food safety, go by temperature and time, not smell: discard perishables like meat, dairy, eggs and leftovers once they have been above 40°F for 2 hours or more. A closed refrigerator stays cold about 4 hours; a closed freezer, about 48 hours full or 24 half full. Frozen food that still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below can be refrozen. By [RefrigeratorRepair.center technical team](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/authors/technical-team/) Published September 24, 2026 ## At a glance. Refrigerator food safety comes down to two things you can measure, temperature and time, and a short list of federal figures that tell you what they mean. Smell and appearance are not on that list. Read the whole guide ### Safe refrigerator temperature 40°F or below The FDA figure for the fresh-food compartment; the freezer should be at 0°F or below. ### Closed refrigerator About 4 hours How long an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold without power, according to the FDA. ### Closed freezer About 48 hours full, 24 half full Only if the door stays shut the whole time. ### Discard line Above 40°F for 2 hours or more Applies to refrigerated perishables such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, eggs and leftovers. In this guide 1. Temperature and time, not smell 2. The official figures, in plain terms 3. Sorting the fresh-food compartment 4. The freezer, and when food can be refrozen 5. When the appliance failed but the power did not 6. Buying time while the appliance is being repaired 7. Step by step 8. Questions ## Temperature and time, not smell The bacteria that make people sick do not announce themselves. A carton of milk can smell fine and still be unsafe, and a container of leftovers can look exactly as it did yesterday. That is why the FDA is blunt about it: after an outage or a failure you cannot rely on appearance or odor to decide. What you can rely on is a reading. An appliance thermometer on the middle shelf of the fresh-food compartment and another in the freezer turn a guess into a number, and they cost less than one bag of groceries. Good refrigerator food safety starts with those two readings and a rough idea of how long the problem has lasted; after that, the federal figures make the decision for you. Source: [FDA — Power Outages: Key Tips for Consumers About Food Safety](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/power-outages-key-tips-consumers-about-food-safety) — Discard perishables after 2 hours above 40°F; odor is no guide ## The official figures, in plain terms The FDA figures fit in one table. The holding times apply only while the doors stay shut. *FDA temperature and time figures for refrigerated and frozen food* | Situation | Figure | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | | Fresh-food compartment | 40°F or below | The recommended setting for the refrigerator. | | Freezer | 0°F or below | The recommended setting for the freezer. | | Closed refrigerator, cooling stopped | About 4 hours | How long it holds food cold if nobody opens it; perishables that have been above 40°F for 2 hours or more are discarded. | | Full freezer, door shut | About 48 hours | How long it holds its temperature. | | Half-full freezer, door shut | About 24 hours | How long it holds its temperature. | | Perishables at room temperature | 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F | Discard anything held out for that long or longer. | ### Food left on the counter during a repair Food that has been sitting out at room temperature has a shorter limit than food in a closed refrigerator: discard perishables held at room temperature for 2 hours or more, or 1 hour if it is above 90°F. That second rule matters when food has been moved to the counter during a repair and forgotten. Source: [FDA — Power Outages: Key Tips for Consumers About Food Safety](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/power-outages-key-tips-consumers-about-food-safety) — Discard perishables after 2 hours above 40°F; odor is no guide; [FDA — Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods) — 48 and 24-hour freezer figures; 1 hour above 90°F; dry ice A close view of an appliance thermometer resting beside milk and leftovers on a refrigerator shelf. ## Sorting the fresh-food compartment Start with the highest-risk items, because they decide most of the trip to the trash. If the compartment has been above 40°F for 2 hours or more, these go: - Raw and cooked meat, poultry and seafood. - Milk and soft dairy. - Eggs. - Cooked leftovers. - Cut fruit. - Anything with a sauce or a cream base. ### Where the compartment warms first The shelves nearest the door and the door bins run warmest, which is worth knowing when deciding what to check with a food thermometer. On a column pair, the working freezer column next door is a good temporary home for anything that can be frozen while the refrigerator column is repaired. ### The sturdiest items These are generally the sturdiest things in the compartment. They are not the items that make people ill after an outage, and they rarely need to be the focus of the decision; the protein, dairy and cooked food are. - Condiments. - Butter. - Whole, uncut vegetables. - Whole uncut fruit. Source: [FDA — Power Outages: Key Tips for Consumers About Food Safety](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/power-outages-key-tips-consumers-about-food-safety) — Discard perishables after 2 hours above 40°F; odor is no guide; [FDA — Are You Storing Food Safely?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely) — The door runs warmer; frozen food stays safe but loses quality; [FoodSafety.gov — Food Safety During Power Outage (keep or discard chart)](https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/food-safety-during-power-outage) — Butter, hard cheeses, condiments, uncut fruit and vegetables can be kept ## The freezer, and when food can be refrozen Whether frozen food can go back into the freezer depends on what you can measure when cooling returns. ### With a thermometer in the freezer If a thermometer was left in the freezer and it reads 40°F or below when cooling returns, the FDA says the food is safe and may be refrozen. ### Without a thermometer Check each package. Food that still has ice crystals, or is at 40°F or below, is safe to refreeze or to cook. ### Texture is a quality question Refreezing costs some texture, especially in fruit, vegetables and fish, but it is a quality question rather than a safety one. The freezer drawer of a French door model and the narrow freezer of a side-by-side both lose cold faster when half empty, which is why the FDA figure for a half-full freezer is so much shorter than for a full one. Source: [FDA — Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods) — 48 and 24-hour freezer figures; 1 hour above 90°F; dry ice; [FDA — Are You Storing Food Safely?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely) — The door runs warmer; frozen food stays safe but loses quality ## When the appliance failed but the power did not The outage figures assume a cabinet that started cold and then lost power all at once. A refrigerator that is failing slowly behaves differently: the fresh-food side may sit at 44°F or 46°F for days while the owner assumes the milk is just going off early. In that case the clock started when the compartment first crossed 40°F, not when you noticed, and the honest answer for the perishables is usually to let them go. An undercounter unit or a beverage-center style refrigerator holding drinks and condiments carries far less risk than a main refrigerator full of meat and leftovers, but the rule for any perishable inside it is the same. ## Buying time while the appliance is being repaired Keep the doors closed. Every opening dumps the cold air that was holding the food, and the 4-hour and 48-hour figures assume the doors stayed shut. 1. Decide in advance what you need. 2. Open once. 3. Close quickly. ### Coolers and ice packs Coolers packed with ice or frozen gel packs will carry the fresh-food essentials for a day or more. ### Dry ice for the freezer The FDA notes that 50 pounds of dry ice should keep an 18 cubic foot, fully stocked freezer cold for two days. Handle dry ice with gloves and keep the room ventilated, since it turns into carbon dioxide gas as it warms. Source: [FDA — Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods) — 48 and 24-hour freezer figures; 1 hour above 90°F; dry ice ## Where to stop Do not taste food to decide whether it is safe, and do not keep food cold by running the appliance with a part removed or a door propped. If the refrigerator smells of burning or trips the breaker, unplug it and empty it rather than trying to keep it going for the food. Written by [RefrigeratorRepair.center technical team](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/authors/technical-team/). The technicians who take the calls this site books. Every guide is written from what we see on those visits and checked against the manufacturer's documentation where it exists. Sources: [FDA — Power Outages: Key Tips for Consumers About Food Safety](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-during-emergencies/power-outages-key-tips-consumers-about-food-safety) · [FDA — Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods) · [FDA — Are You Storing Food Safely?](https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/are-you-storing-food-safely) · [FoodSafety.gov — Food Safety During Power Outage (keep or discard chart)](https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/food-safety-during-power-outage) ## Step by step. Four steps, in the order worth doing them. 01 ### Note the time Write down when you first noticed the warm cabinet, or when the power went off. The whole decision depends on elapsed time. 02 ### Take a reading Read an appliance thermometer on the middle shelf and in the freezer before moving anything, so the reading reflects the compartment rather than your hand. 03 ### Sort the perishables If the fresh-food side has been above 40°F for 2 hours or more, discard the meat, dairy, eggs and leftovers; if not, move them to a cooler with ice. 04 ### Check the freezer by package Keep and refreeze anything with ice crystals or at 40°F or below, and discard the rest. For the heart of your home. ## Questions owners ask. ### Is hard cheese as risky as milk? Soft and fresh cheeses carry the same risk as milk. Hard aged cheeses are less vulnerable, but when you are unsure what category something falls into, treat it as perishable and let it go. ### Can I cook meat that was in a warm refrigerator to make it safe? Not if it has already been above 40°F for 2 hours or more. The FDA warns that perishables not kept adequately cold can cause illness even when they are cooked thoroughly. ### The display says 38°F but the milk feels warm. Which is right? Trust a separate thermometer. The display reports one sensor in one spot, and a door bin can be several degrees warmer than the place the sensor is mounted. ### How long after a repair until I can restock? Wait until an appliance thermometer shows 40°F or below in the fresh-food side and 0°F in the freezer, which is often a few hours for the refrigerator and longer for the freezer. ## The problems behind it. Each has a page of its own: what it usually means and the causes in the order worth checking. [All 18 problems](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/) Food safety applies ### Refrigerator Not Cooling 7 causes, cheapest first Food safety applies ### Freezer Not Freezing 6 causes, cheapest first Food safety applies ### Refrigerator Not Turning On 5 causes, cheapest first ## When it needs a technician. 15 error codes on this site send owners here first. The repairs on the right are where this guide ends when the checks do not settle it. [Whirlpool PO](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/whirlpool-po/) [KitchenAid PO](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kitchenaid-po/) [GE PF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-pf/) [Frigidaire PF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-pf/) [GE Profile FF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-ff/) [GE Profile PF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-pf/) [Hestan HA](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/hestan-ha/) [BlueStar High Temperature Alarm](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/bluestar-high-temperature-alarm/) [BlueStar High Temp Error](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/bluestar-high-temp-error/) [Fulgor Milano Power Failure!!](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/fulgor-milano-power-failure/) ### Diagnostic visit The visit that decides what the repair actually is, before any part is ordered. ### Sealed system and compressor The expensive end of the list, and the one where the type of refrigerator decides whether to do it at all. ### Controls and sensors A refrigerator cools to what it believes the temperature is, and a sensor reading wrong is obeyed perfectly. ## More in safety and food. Food-safety thresholds, what a burning smell means, and what to unplug before anything else. [The whole section](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) Is this dangerous, and is the food still good ### The smells and sounds that mean unplug it now Most refrigerator noises are harmless. A burning or chemical smell is not a cleaning problem and should not wait for Thursday. Is this dangerous, and is the food still good ### After a power cut: read the alert before you clear it Some models record the highest temperature reached while you were not watching, and clearing the alert destroys the only evidence. Guides ### All 19 guides Six sections, by what you are trying to find out. --- **[Read on the site: What to do with the food when the refrigerator fails](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/food-safety-when-a-refrigerator-fails/)** **[Book a visit with RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/schedule/)**