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Power outage... is it safe to eat?Kansas Power outages can occur at any time of the year and it often takes from a few hours to several days for electricity to be restored to residential areas. Foods stored in freezers and refrigerators can become unsafe in just a few hours if bacteria begins to grow and if these foods are consumed, people can become very sick. The USDA offers the following recommendations for maintaining food safety while the power is out. Keep the freezer closed. Open the door as little as possible to keep cold air inside the freezer for as long as possible. A freestanding freezer will stay at freezing temperatures about 2 days; a half-full freezer about 1 day. So try to limit the number of times that you open your freezer until power is restored. If your freezer is not full, quickly group packages together to insulate the food and maintain the coldest possible temperature. And if you think the power will be out for several days, try to find some dry ice. Follow the handling instructions carefully. Dry ice can cause burns, therefore do not handle dry ice with bare hands. Dry ice can be placed in a freezer wrapped in several layers of newspaper or paper bags. Allow 2 to 3 pounds of dry ice per cubic foot of freezer space. More will be needed in an upright freezer because dry ice should be placed on each shelf. If food has started to thaw, what can safely be kept? Evaluate each item separately. Be careful with meat, poultry, fish and shellfish products, foods containing eggs, milk, cream, sour cream, soft cheese and all cooked foods. When in doubt, throw it out! The risk of food poisoning is never worth the cost of food. Frozen foods that have reached temperatures of 40 degrees F and above for more than two hours are not safe to eat. Discard these items. You may safely refreeze foods if: --They still contain ice crystals; --They have not exceeded 40 degrees F for two hours or more; --They have been held at refrigerated temperature (40 degrees F) no more than 2 days. Never taste a food with questionable odor or color. Always properly dispose of these foods by sealing them in a plastic garbage bag or burying the food. And remember, if the food is not safe for you it is not safe for your pets. The following guide may be helpful as you make the decisions about what to keep and what to throw out. Meat, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish: Fresh meats, poultry, fish and shellfish are unsafe to eat when they start to spoil. Examine each package of food before you decide what to do with it. If the color or odor is poor or questionable, discard it. Be especially careful with ground, cubed or sliced meats and poultry and all fish and shellfish because they are highly perishable. If completely thawed, it is best to discard these items. Make decisions about refreezing meats and poultry using the guidelines above. Cooked Foods: Dangerous bacteria grow rapidly in cooked foods. Do not refreeze these products if they have thawed. Dispose of them properly. Do not use or refreeze convenience and/or packaged dinners that have thawed. Vegetables and Fruits: Frozen vegetables and fruits that are frozen plain (with no sauce) may be cooked and refrozen if they show no signs of spoilage. Fruits usually ferment when they start to spoil which would not make them unsafe, but will make the flavor objectionable. Refreeze if they look and smell acceptable. Breads, Cakes and Pies: Freshness will be affected in these products but they can be refrozen unless they have become contaminated with liquid drippings from other foods as they thawed. Cream pies should be discarded. When it happens to your refrigerator, items should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours. After that, you may have to discard some items. Some foods in your refrigerator will be safe to use when they are not refrigerated. Jams, jellies, preserves, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, vegetable oil, margarine or shortening, and condiments like ketchup, mustard, and pickle/pickle relishes should be safe without refrigeration. However, milk, soft cheese and other dairy products, eggs, deli, processed and raw meats, and all cooked foods spoil quickly and should be discarded if the temperature rises above 40 degrees F for two hours or more. Although dry ice can be used in the refrigerator, block ice is better. You can put it in the refrigerated freezer unit and place your refrigerated perishables there. The freezer unit will insulate food better and maintain a colder temperature longer. Group meat and poultry to one side or on a tray so that if they begin to thaw, their juices will not get on other foods. Be sure to discard any fully-cooked items in either the freezer or the refrigerator that have come in contact with raw meat juices. Above all, remember that you can not rely on appearance or odor to tell if a food is safe to eat. Never taste food to determine its safety. If you are unsure about the safety of your food after a power outage remember... when in doubt, throw it out!! For more information about power outages and food safety, contact the Meadowlark District Extension Offices located at Oskaloosa, Holton or Seneca. 1/7/08 Date: 12/31/07
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