Eating safely without normal refrigeration or cooking

Keep fridge and freezer doors closed and record when power stopped. UK food authorities give approximate cold-retention figures of up to 4 hours for a fridge, 48 hours for a full freezer and 24 hours for a half-full freezer. They are estimates, not a guarantee. Room temperature, the appliance and door opening affect the result.

Use a thermometer if available. The FSA's outage guidance allows chilled food below 8C, while normal fridge advice is 5C or below. If normally refrigerated food has reached 8C or above, the FSA sets a four-hour limit before discard unless power is restored within that period; consult the complete guidance when making a decision. Scotland's food authority has its own guidance. If temperature history or timing is uncertain, be cautious, particularly for children, pregnancy and people at increased risk of illness.

Do not taste food to test safety or assume reheating repairs every storage failure. Follow use-by dates and storage instructions. Only prioritise eating perishable food while it is still safe and can be prepared safely. Do not rush to cook suspect meat using unsafe equipment merely to avoid waste.

A practical reserve: Store familiar food which can be eaten without cooking and uses little washing-up water. Possible choices include suitable ready-to-eat tinned foods, crackers, spreads, cereal and shelf-stable milk in small packs. Check labels: some foods require cooking or refrigeration once opened. Plan portions you can finish without keeping unsafe leftovers. Include allergies, dietary needs and a manual opener.

Electric cooking usually stops with the power. A gas cooker may also depend on electrical features or a working gas supply; use it only according to its instructions. Outdoor stoves and barbecues remain outside, away from openings and combustibles, even in bad weather. Never cook in a fallout shelter with outdoor combustion equipment.

For babies: Prefer suitable ready-to-feed formula for an emergency reserve if formula is used. Powdered formula requires safe water, feeding equipment and preparation. Do not dilute feeds or substitute adult survival food.

After flooding or contamination: Normal cold-storage rules do not clear food exposed to floodwater, chemicals or fallout. Follow the relevant food authority's incident advice. Keep suspect products separate and avoid spreading contamination.

Update 24 October 2026: temperature and time

Normally keep the fridge at 5°C or below. During an outage, monitor it with a thermometer. If it reaches 8°C or above, the guidance uses a four-hour limit for foods that need refrigeration. Track temperature and time — don't treat the first four-hour estimate as permission to add another four hours. If you can't establish that food stayed safe, discard it.

Use perishable food first only while it remains safe and can be prepared safely. A power cut does not make food that needs cooking safe to eat raw.

A use-by date is about safety; a best-before date is about quality. Choosing packs you can finish at one sitting avoids relying on the fridge for leftovers.

Planning for longer? See the two week emergency food and essentials checklist — an optional fourteen-day extension of the three-day starting point.