Power outage - food in the fridge okay for 8ish hours?

[Marc Anthony]

My block had a 7 1/2-8 hour power outage this afternoon. Is the food in the fridge trustworthy enough to eat for that length of time unrefridgerated? I had stuff like milk & yogurt, some leftover turkey, and a few frozen dinners; the latter I think were cold enough that's it's not a big deal, but the dairy and meat stuff makes me wonder. Chuck it?

[space-time]

I think so, I know Paul F. would not have an issue with that.

[Paul F.]

Unless you have a poorly insulated fridge from the 1960's, quit worrying...
I doubt that the temp in the fridge got above 40, much less up to "room temp".


Eat the stuff and don't worry so much!

The expert hath spoken

[space-time]

"The expert hath spoken."

Case closed!

[AlphaDog]

Unless you had the refrigerator door standing open all the time, the stuff is fine. Keep in mind that it wasn't totally unrefrigerated during that period of time, because refrigerators are very well insulated and the inside never did warm up to equal room temperature. It's not like you moved all of the food out onto a counter and let it sit in a warm room for eight hours.

Neither Paul nor I would have qualms about eating any of it. I don't worry until the power has been off for a couple of days.

Edit: I was still typing when Paul posted. See? I told you so!!!

[MacArtist]

When it comes to food; trust your eyes and your nose. They don't lie.

[IronMac]

What MacArtist said. If you live far enough north...the fridge might actually be warmer than the kitchen...