Power Outage Food Safety: What To Toss And What To Keep

Cheese
It's important to distinguish between hard and soft cheeses. Hard cheese like cheddar, Swiss and provolone are safe to keep, but soft picks like brie, mozzarella, ricotta or cottage cheese should be discarded. Toss any shredded cheese, even if it's a hard type like cheddar; grated cheese, however, is safe to hang on to.


Meat, Poultry And Seafood
Any food in this category held over 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours or more should be discarded, including raw meat, cooked leftovers, salads like tuna or egg salad, opened cans of meat or seafood, lunchmeats and any foods cooked with meat like casseroles, soups, stews or pizza, according to FoodSafety.gov.


Dairy
Butter and margarine are safe to keep, but all other dairy products like milk, cream, yogurt and baby formula need to go.


Eggs
All eggs and egg products should be discarded.


Fruits
All your fruit is safe to keep unrefrigerated, unless it's already been cut. If that's the case, toss it.


Sauces, Spreads, Jams
Many of your kitchen staples will last even through a power outage. Peanut butter, jelly, relish, mustard, ketchup and sauces like soy, barbecue and Worcestershire are all safe, as are any vinegar-based dressings. Discard open tomato sauce, cream-based dressings, any fish sauces and mayo, tartar sauce or horseradish that has been stored at above 50 degrees Fahrenheit for more than eight hours.


Bread, Cakes, Cookies, Pasta, Grains
Prepared breads, rolls, muffins, cakes and tortillas and breakfast eats like bagels and waffles are all safe to hang on to. Toss cooked pasta and rice, any pasta salads, refrigerated bread or cookie dough and any homemade fresh pasta.


Pies And Pastry
Cream-filled or custard-type goodies should be tossed, while any fruit pie should be safe.


Vegetables
Raw veggies and all your herbs and spices are safe, but it's best to toss any cooked veggies or anything pre-cut, washed and packaged. You should also discard cooked leftovers containing vegetables, like casseroles, soups or stews, baked potatoes, potato salad and any open vegetable juice.