This table of frozen food safety shows how to determine if food is safe to eat after a power outage that affects your freezer.
Food | Still contains ice crystals and feels as cold as if refrigerated | Held above 40°F for more than 2 hours |
---|---|---|
Meat, Poultry, Seafood | ||
Beef, veal, lamb, pork and ground meats | Refreeze | Discard |
Poultry and ground poultry | Refreeze | Discard |
Variety meats (liver, kidney, heart, chitterlings) | Refreeze | Discard |
Casseroles, stews, soups | Refreeze | Discard |
Fish, shellfish, breaded seafood products | Refreeze. However, there will be some texture and flavor loss. | Discard |
Dairy | ||
Milk | Refreeze. May lose some texture. | Discard |
Eggs (out of shell) and egg products | Refreeze | Discard |
Ice cream, frozen yogurt | Discard (poor quality) | Discard |
Cheese (soft and semi-soft) | Refreeze. May lose texture | Discard |
Hard cheeses | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Shredded cheeses | Refreeze | Discard |
Casseroles containing milk, cream, eggs, soft cheese | Refreeze | Discard |
Cheesecake | Refreeze | Discard |
Fruits | ||
Juices | Refreeze | Refreeze. Discard if mold, yeasty smell or sliminess develops. |
Home or commercially packaged | Refreeze. Will change in texture and flavor. | Refreeze. Discard if mold, yeasty smell or sliminess develops. |
Vegetables | ||
Juices | Refreeze | Discard after held above 40°F for 6 hours. |
Home or commercially packaged or blanched | Refreeze. May suffer texture and flavor loss. | Discard after held above 40°F for 6 hours |
Breads, Pastries | ||
Breads, rolls, muffins, cakes (without custard fillings) | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Cakes, pies, pastries with custard or cheese filling | Refreeze | Discard |
Pie crusts | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Commercial and homemade bread dough | Refreeze. Some quality loss may occur. | Refreeze. Considerable quality loss. |
Other | ||
Casseroles: pasta, rice-based | Refreeze | Discard |
Breakfast items—waffles, pancakes, bagels | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Frozen meal, entree, specialty items (pizza, sausage and biscuit, meat pie, convenience foods) | Refreeze | Discard |