7 hours

[sunshine]

No power....I wonder how much food we lost...freezer is pretty full. We had one big ugly storm....at least 3 inches of rain.

[takncarabizniz]

Crazy weather.  My cousin just sent word that more lightning strikes have caused a massive wildfire in Glacier Park and we had hellacious storms Saturday night that dumped at least 2" of rain, caused landslides. 

If you have a deep freezer, 7 hours should be long enough to keep everything frozen, so long as the door was kept closed. Your kitchen freezer, it's more like 2 hours, but hopefully, it is was fully, everything kind of hung out and watched over each other and not much will be lost.

[sunshine]

It was the freezer of the fridge... I transferred everything to that one because the big freezer is not frost free so I had to turn it off  to prevent water on the floor. It was actually 9 hours, not 7.

[emilyB]

If it's really packed to the brim it should be alright for the 7 hours.  Wicked weather everywhere it seems.

[sunshine]

Refrigerated Food and Power Outages: When to Save and When to Throw Out
Adapted from Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency (USDA).

Is food in the refrigerator safe during a power outage? It should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers) that have been above 40 °F for over 2 hours.

Never taste food to determine its safety! You can’t rely on appearance or odor to determine whether food is safe.

Note: Always discard any items in the refrigerator that have come into contact with raw meat juices.

You will have to evaluate each item separately. Use this chart as a guide.

Food Categories

Specific Foods

Held above 40 °F for over 2 hours

MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD

Raw or leftover cooked meat, poultry, fish, or seafood; soy meat substitutes

Discard

Thawing meat or poultry

Discard

Salads: Meat, tuna, shrimp, chicken, or egg salad

Discard

Gravy, stuffing, broth

Discard

Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, dried beef

Discard

Pizza – with any topping

Discard

Canned hams labeled "Keep Refrigerated"

Discard

Canned meats and fish, opened

Discard

Casseroles, soups, stews

Discard

CHEESE

Soft Cheeses: blue/bleu, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, cottage, cream, Edam, Monterey Jack, ricotta, mozzarella, Muenster, Neufchatel, queso blanco, queso fresco

Discard

Hard Cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano

Safe

Processed Cheeses

Safe

Shredded Cheeses

Discard

Low-fat Cheeses

Discard

Grated Parmesan, Romano, or combination (in can or jar)

Safe

DAIRY

Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, eggnog, soy milk

Discard

Butter, margarine

Safe

Baby formula, opened

Discard

EGGS

Fresh eggs, hard-cooked in shell, egg dishes, egg products

Discard

Custards and puddings, quiche

Discard

FRUITS

Fresh fruits, cut

Discard

Fruit juices, opened

Safe

Canned fruits, opened

Safe

Fresh fruits, coconut, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, dates

Safe

SAUCES, SPREADS, JAMS

Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish

Discard if above 50 °F for over 8 hrs.

Peanut butter

Safe

Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles

Safe

Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, hoisin sauces

Safe

Fish sauces, oyster sauce

Discard

Opened vinegar-based dressings

Safe

Opened creamy-based dressings

Discard

Spaghetti sauce, opened jar

Discard

BREAD, CAKES, COOKIES, PASTA, GRAINS

Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas

Safe

Refrigerator biscuits, rolls, cookie dough

Discard

Cooked pasta, rice, potatoes

Discard

Pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinaigrette

Discard

Fresh pasta

Discard

Cheesecake

Discard

Breakfast foods –waffles, pancakes, bagels

Safe

PIES, PASTRY

Pastries, cream filled

Discard

Pies – custard, cheese filled, or chiffon; quiche

Discard

Pies, fruit

Safe

VEGETABLES

Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices

Safe

Greens, pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged

Discard

Vegetables, raw

Safe

Vegetables, cooked; tofu

Discard

Vegetable juice, opened

Discard

Baked potatoes

Discard

Commercial garlic in oil

Discard

Potato salad

Discard

Casseroles, soups, stews

Discard

[sunshine]

I tossed it all. If you ever had food poisoning....you would not think twice. I have it... sucks!

[emilyB]

That's rough.  Now you have to start stocking up all over again.  A lot of people nowadays get a generator because of frequent power cuts and it might pay for itself over time when you think of all the food you lose in a power cut.  My neighbor has one, and we have a generator in the motorhome. 

[luvtimes]

 You had all that in your fridge.

I open my fridge and there's hardly anything to eat.. Ever...

 give any excuse to eat out.. lol.

[takncarabizniz]

Was it enough to file an insurance claim for replacement?

[sunshine]

I could file with insurance but just had a claim for the hail for the new roof and patio so I don't want to  do that and get higher rates.  I read on Consumer reports that a good  generator is  in the thousands  and a couple more to get it hooked it up. I rarely lose my power so if I have to lose food once in a while, so be it.