When the Power Goes Out: The Overlooked Food Safety Risks During Storms and Emergencies

When the Power Goes Out: The Overlooked Food Safety Risks During Storms and Emergencies

When a storm approaches, people rush to grocery stores, stock up on essentials, and fill carts with milk, eggs, bread, snacks, bottled water, and frozen meals. It feels like preparation. It feels like control. But there is one part of emergency readiness most people overlook: what happens to all that food when the power goes out.

Power outages are no longer rare. Weather events, heat waves, freezes, hurricanes, and wildfires have made sudden blackouts a normal part of life in many areas. While people focus on flashlights, chargers, and batteries, the food sitting in fridges and freezers becomes a quiet safety risk that many do not consider until it is too late.

The refrigerator slowly warms. The free