An employee of the Target store at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis was throwing away cheeses, dips and other perishable food by the cart-full Thursday after a power outage caused by the nor'easter.That storm, which hit Massachusetts from Tuesday into Wednesday, caused widespread power outages across Cape Cod and the South Shore. For some communities, utility companies said the power outages could last into the weekend. The Target employee who was bringing the food to the trash with a shopping cart said the store began running on a backup generator Wednesday night but the decision was made that the refrigerated products needed to be thrown out. In a statement from Target, the store confirmed what the employee had said. "Three Target stores in Cape Cod area experienced lengthy power outages as a result of the recent storm. Since the coolers did not maintain appropriate temperatures for their required duration, we were unable to salvage food to be donated," a spokesFoodSafety.gov suggests that many refrigerator items held at above 40 degrees for more than two hours should be discarded. The same rule applies to many thawed items from a freezer.