Spoiled rotten

Your house has a power outage that lasts more than two hours. When the lights come back on and you open your refrigerator, what should you throw away or save? Foodsafety.gov has a chart to guide you. Perishable food—meat, poultry, fish and eggs—needs to go. Most other foods are safe, so long as the power isn’t out for more than four hours. Here’s a quick guide:

Toss:

• Raw or leftover cooked meats, poultry and seafood

• Soy meat substitutes

• Soft cheeses

• Eggs and dishes containing eggs

• Milk, sour cream and yogurt

• Casseroles, stews and soups

• Pizza

Save:

• Hard and processed cheeses

• Butter and margarine

• Pasteurized fresh juices

• Fresh and canned fruits

• Raw vegetables

• Condiments

• Bread, tortillas

• Vinegar-based dressings