Independent report

Food and nutrition - scripts for broadcast media

Published 16 December 2025

The 4 UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) as independent advisers provide public health advice in emergencies. To help preparations for the very unlikely scenario of a national power outage, which refers to a total power outage affecting the whole of Great Britain, they have published the public health advice that the public would be given in this scenario.

Many countries plan for a national power outage. This is part of routine resilience and contingency planning for emergencies. A national power outage is listed in the National Risk Register as ‘failure of the national electricity transmission system (NETS)’.

Although a national power outage is unlikely to occur, if it did happen it would result in everyone in the country (except those with backup generators) losing their mains electricity supply instantaneously and possibly without warning. Among other effects this could also result in the loss of:

• mobile and internet telecommunications
• water
• sewage removal and treatment
• fuel
• gas
• ability to make electronic payments

This would cause significant and widespread disruption and risk to health, and the UK CMOs’ advice is to help reduce the public health impact.

The government Prepare website contains helpful, practical advice on how to prepare for a power cut whether it is short lived or on a national scale. See the pages Power cuts and Get prepared for emergencies for more information.

In the unlikely scenario of a national power outage, communicating health advice to the public would be challenging because phone, internet and television services would be disrupted. For this reason, emergency communications to the public would be limited to radio (BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4), which is the most power resilient form of communication. This means that anyone with access to a battery-powered, wind-up or car radio (while the battery lasts) would be able to access the advice. 

Specifically, the UK CMOs have developed scripts to provide public advice on the following important health topics in the unlikely event of a national power outage:

• water and sanitation
• food and nutrition
• keeping warm or cool in extreme weather

For water and sanitation, and food and nutrition there is a shorter version of the script to be read on the first day of the emergency and a more detailed version for the following days. These 2 scripts are considered by the UK CMOs to cover the most important health topics, due to the urgency of providing accurate advice to the public early on in the emergency. Keeping warm or cool in extreme weather is intended to be helpful in certain situations in winter or summer. 

These are not government policy - they been developed by the 4 UK CMOs as independent health advisers, with valuable input from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and collaboration across the 4 nations and their respective public health agencies.

Script: day 1

A public health message from the UK Chief Medical Officers - please listen carefully. 

Hello, this is [insert name], Chief Medical Officer/other for [insert nation]. I am about to provide you with important information. You may want to write this down so that you can refer to it later. We will be repeating this advice regularly.

We have planned in case this extraordinary situation happened and this advice has been created by doctors and scientists to help keep you and your family healthy.

I am going to give you information about eating and storing food and things you can do to reduce the risk of becoming unwell. 

Most people will have no serious negative effects from eating less food than normal for a few days. The most important thing is to make sure the food you do eat is safe. Eat chilled and frozen food that is likely to go off quickly first, followed by food which you normally don’t keep in the fridge, but which has a short shelf life. Keep food which you normally keep in the cupboard and that has a longer shelf life until last.

First, I will focus on who is at higher risk in this situation.

Babies, young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, older people and those who have weakened immune systems are more likely to become seriously unwell in case of food poisoning. If you are in one of these groups, or you look after someone who is, please make sure the food being eaten is safe. People in these groups should not eat chilled ready to eat food such as pre-packed sandwiches or salads, pre-cooked food and leftovers after 4 hours of being without power, even if it has been stored in the fridge. If you have a child under 2 at home who is not being breastfed, carry on with their usual feeding schedule but make sure they have at least 1 litre of fluid a day (around 4 cups). 

Secondly, advice for everyone which will help you to plan how to use the food you have over the next few days. We are providing this advice on the basis that the power might be out for a number of days:

• take stock of how much food you have available for everyone in your household for next few days 

• prioritise what food you will eat first

• do not eat food that is rotting - throw it away immediately in an outside bin. Open the fridge and freezer doors as little as possible to keep them cold.

This is how you should prioritise.

Eat any chilled or defrosted frozen food you have first, because this will go off more quickly. This includes products that say to keep them refrigerated on the label, such as pre-packed sandwiches, salads, cooked meats, cooked leftovers and defrosted pre-cooked frozen food. A fridge should stay cold for around 4 hours following loss of power. Food in a freezer should stay frozen for up to 48 hours in a full freezer, or 24 hours if it’s half full. Remember, if the power has been off for more than 4 hours, these refrigerated foods are not safe for people who are more likely to become seriously unwell because of food poisoning. 

Food that will last one to 2 days without being kept in the fridge includes pre-prepared or packaged salads and sandwiches and cooked chilled meats if they look and smell normal. Meat and fish will also be safe to eat if you can cook it, as long as it looks and smells normal. Defrosted frozen fruit and vegetables will last a couple of days. They will be safe to eat after this if you can cook them before you eat them. 

Once you have eaten your chilled food and any frozen food that has already defrosted, the next best thing to eat to preserve your food stocks is food that doesn’t need to be chilled or frozen. For example, bread and cakes, fresh whole fruit and vegetables, and eggs, as eggs do not need to be kept in the fridge. These foods are likely to be safe if they look and smell normal. 

People who are severely immunocompromised and those who require medically supervised diets should not eat raw eggs. 

Once you no longer have any fresh food available, the next best thing to eat to preserve your food stocks are foods with a longer shelf life. Food that is normally stored at room temperature will continue to be safe to eat, even if the best before date has passed. 

So, to summarise, eat chilled and frozen food that is likely to go off quickly first, followed by food which you normally don’t keep in the fridge, but which has a short shelf life. Keep food which you normally keep in the cupboard and that has a longer shelf life until last. And take particular care to ensure the food you are giving to more at risk groups is safe.

Please follow this advice until you hear otherwise to give everyone the best chance of staying as healthy as possible. This advice will be repeated regularly.

We will provide more information and advice in the coming days.

Script: day 2 and onwards

A public health message from the UK Chief Medical Officers - please listen carefully. 

Hello, this is [insert name], Chief Medical Officer/other for [insert nation]. I am about to provide you with important information. You may want to write this down so that you can refer to it later. We will be repeating this advice regularly.

We have planned in case this extraordinary situation happened and this advice has been created by doctors and scientists to help keep you and your family healthy. 

In this broadcast I am going to remind you about eating and storing food and things you can do to reduce the risk of becoming unwell. I will also provide further advice on how long foods typically last for. 

Most people will have no serious negative effects from eating less food than normal for a few days. The most important thing is to make sure the food you do eat is safe. In short, eat chilled and frozen food that is likely to go off quickly first, followed by food which you normally don’t keep in the fridge, but which has a short shelf life. Keep food which you normally keep in the cupboard and that has a longer shelf life until last.

First, I will focus on who is at higher risk in this situation.

Remember that babies, young children, pregnant women, older people and those who have weakened immune systems are more likely to become seriously unwell because of food poisoning. If you are in one of these groups, or you look after someone who is, please make sure the food being eaten is safe. People in these groups should not eat ready to eat food, such as pre-packed sandwiches or salads, pre-cooked food and leftovers, after 4 hours of being without power, even if it has been stored in the fridge. 

Secondly, I will move on to advice which will help you to plan how to use the food you have at home over the next few days. We are providing this advice on the basis that the power might be out for a number of days, so you should plan accordingly.

Take stock of how much food you have available for everyone in your household for several days. 

Prioritise what food you will eat first.

Do not eat food that is rotting - throw it away immediately in an outside bin.

This is how you should prioritise. Please write this down.

Chilled or defrosted frozen foods may be starting to go off, but you can eat them if they look and smell normal. Throw away any rotting food. Defrosted frozen fruit and vegetables will last a couple of days. They will be safe to eat after this if you can cook them before you eat them. 

Once you have eaten your chilled food and any frozen food that has already defrosted, the next best thing to eat to preserve your food stocks is food that doesn’t need to be chilled or frozen. For example, bread and cakes, fresh whole fruit and vegetables and eggs, as eggs do not need to be kept in the fridge. These foods are likely to be safe if they look and smell normal. 

People who are severely immunocompromised and those who require medically supervised diets should not eat raw eggs. 

Once you no longer have any fresh food available, the next best thing to eat to preserve your food stocks are foods with a longer shelf life. Food that is normally stored at room temperature will continue to be safe to eat, even if the best before date has passed. 

So, to summarise, eat chilled and frozen food that is likely to go off quickly first, followed by food which you normally don’t keep in the fridge, but which has a short shelf life. Keep food which you normally keep in the cupboard and that has a longer shelf life until last. And take particular care to ensure the food you are giving to more at risk groups is safe.

Thirdly, I am going to give you some more detailed information on how long different foods will stay safe to eat. Remember, do not eat food which is rotting, throw it away immediately. There is a lot of information here - please write it down.

At this point, food that may still be safe to eat even though the fridge is not working includes pre-prepared or packaged salads and sandwiches, and cooked chilled meats, as long as they look and smell normal. Meat and fish will also be safe to eat if you can cook it, as long as it looks and smells normal. Defrosted frozen fruit and vegetables will last a couple of days. They will be safe to eat after this if you can cook them before you eat them. 

Pre-cut fresh fruit and vegetables will last 3 to 4 days. They will be safe to eat after this if you can cook them before you eat them. 

Provided they look and smell normal, whole fruit, vegetables, fruit juice, hard cheeses, pasteurised milk, yoghurt, butter, tinned food or long-life milk or juice, even once opened, are safe to eat or drink for up to 7 days. You should peel fruit where possible if you can’t wash it if you have no fresh water.

Some food that you would usually cook can be safely eaten uncooked and will last well beyond 7 days. This includes tinned vegetables, tinned fish, beans, pasta, dried cereals such as oats, and pre-cooked rice and grains in pouches that don’t need refrigeration.

So in summary, make sure to eat your freshest food first and keep your dried and longer shelf life food for later in the week.

Next, I will talk to you about how to store your food to keep it as fresh as possible.

A fridge should stay cold for around 4 hours following loss of power. Food in a full freezer can stay frozen for up to 48 hours, 24 hours if the freezer is half full. Open the fridge and freezer doors as little as possible to keep them cold.

In cold weather, food is likely to last longer. You can keep food outside in a clean and dry sealed container. Keep all food out of direct sunlight and protect it from animals using plastic or metal containers.

Finally, some possibilities for how you may be able to cook your food. 

While the power is off, most of us will not be able to cook our food in the normal way. If you have one, you could use a camping stove or barbecue outside or, if you are able to do so safely, light a campfire outside. Food might take longer to cook than usual so make sure it is steaming hot and cooked through before you eat it. 

Never use camping stoves or barbecues indoors as there is a very high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can kill. 

If you can, use antibacterial wipes to clean surfaces and utensils to stop bacteria growing. 

If you are vomiting or have diarrhoea, avoid preparing food for other people to reduce the risk of infecting them.

Please follow this advice until you hear otherwise to give everyone the best chance of staying as healthy as possible. This advice will be repeated regularly.