Sue, many if not most household insurance policies cover you for food spoilage due to interruption to the electricity supply. Check your policy, you may be able to claim for any food you throw out. Geo. Thanks to everyone who responded ... I've decided to throw out the ice-creams and ice lollies - and also the frozen cooked food - but will keep the rest - and try and use it all up in the next 2-4 weeks - descending in order of 'thickness' of the packaging - starting with the thinnest .. :-)) Shop bought frozen food isn't nearly as frozen as the food in my freezer - and the unfortunate thing was - we had only just stocked up (a few hours before the power outage) - so this food won't be as 'solid' as the other, older, frozen stuff ... One thing - I'm not sure I'd've wanted to have trusted any of this food if the lecky had been off for 24 hours - let alone 48 ... Urghh ... Maybe US / Canadian freezers are built differently - maybe they have more insulation around them ... Thanks again ... Sue