Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and freezer at 0°F or below. During an outage, an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours. Discard perishables that have been above 40°F for two hours or more.
Safety first
Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and freezer at 0°F or below. During an outage, an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours. Discard perishables that have been above 40°F for two hours or more.
Practical next steps
- Protect people first and stop operating the appliance when a hazard is present.
- Record the full model and what you observed only when it is safe.
- Use the official resource and the exact model manual; bring in qualified service where the work exceeds owner-safe checks.
Temperature and time matter
Use an appliance thermometer. FoodSafety.gov says a closed refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours during an outage. Perishable food held above 40°F for two hours or longer should be discarded; when ambient temperature is above 90°F, use the one-hour limit. Do not taste food to judge safety.