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Play It Safe With Food After a Power Outage Preparing for Power Outage You can do a few things to help prepare for power outages so you won't have a food safety problem. Keep several blue-ice freezable packages in your freezer. If your freezer is not full, fill containers (such as milk cartons) with water and freeze them. If the electricity goes out, you'll have blocks of ice in the freezer to help maintain temperature. Know where you can buy dry ice. Turn the thermostat on your freezer and refrigerator to the coldest setting. Be sure to return to a normal setting when the electricity is restored. During Power Outage Following these steps will help keep food safe during power outages or when the freezer or refrigerator is not working: While the electricity is off, avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer doors unless absolutely necessary. A fully stocked freezer will usually keep food frozen for two days after losing power. A half-full freezer will usually keep food frozen for about one day. If the freezer isn't full, quickly group packages together so they'll retain the cold more effectively. Separate raw meat and poultry items from other foods. If raw meat and poultry begin to thaw, this will prevent their juices from getting onto other foods. If the power will be out for a longer period than the freezer will maintain the cold, dry ice may be placed in the freezer. CAUTION: Never touch dry ice with your bare hands or breathe the fumes. Place the dry ice on cardboard or on empty shelves in the freezer around the items to be kept frozen. Thirty pounds of dry ice should hold a full, normal-size freezer below freezing for at least a couple of days. In the refrigerator, highly perishable food will usually keep 4 to 6 hours, depending on the kitchen temperature. If the power will be out longer, ice may be placed in the refrigerator. Block ice will be most effective. After Power Outage When the freezer is operating again, use these guidelines to decide what to do with foods that were stored in the freezer: If ice crystals are still visible and/or the food feels as cold as if refrigerated, it is safe to refreeze. Raw meats and poultry, cheese, juices, breads and pastries can be refrozen without losing a lot of quality. Prepared foods, fish, vegetables and fruits can be refrozen safely, but quality may suffer. Mark these to be used as soon as possible. Remember that seafood will be among the first to thaw and will need attention first. Also, ground meat is likely to spoil before other meats. If the food thawed and is still cool or has not been at room temperature for more than several hours, cook as soon as possible. Serve or refreeze. If the food thawed or was held above 40 degrees F for more than 2 hours, generally it should be discarded because bacteria may multiply to unsafe levels under these conditions. The only foods that can be refrozen under these conditions are well-wrapped hard cheeses, butter and margarine, breads and pastries without custard fillings, fruits and fruit juices that look and smell acceptable. Vegetables held above 40 degrees F for less than 6 hours may be refrozen with quality loss. Pecans and other nuts may be refrozen safely but may suffer quality loss. When the refrigerator is operating again, use these guidelines to decide what to do with foods that were stored in the refrigerator: Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, relishes, piquante sauce, oil and vinegar salad dressings, Worcestershire sauce and steak sauces should be fine. The acid in them is a natural preservative. Jams, jellies, preserves and syrups are all right, too, because sugar is a preservative. Check for mold growth. Hard cheese will be O.K., and if the temperature hasn't gotten too warm inside the refrigerator, blocks or slices of processed cheese can be used. Well-wrapped butter and margarine can usually be kept as long as they do not melt; discard if rancid odors develop. Keep unopened packages of cream cheese, but discard if they are moldy when opened. Sour cream, yogurt and milk should be O.K. if cool, although quality may be poor and shelf life shortened. Fresh fruits and vegetables are safe as long as they're still firm and there's no evidence of mold, a yeasty smell or sliminess. Juices are safe as long as there's no evidence of mold growth and they look and smell acceptable. Pecans, peanuts and peanut butter also are safe. Cured meats and lunch meats, if still cold and not slimy, are O.K. Eggs are O.K. if still cool. Eggs should never be eaten raw. Throw away leftovers and other highly perishable foods that have been held at temperatures around room temperature for more than several hours. You should have cooked any raw meat, fish or poultry products stored in the refrigerator by the second day of the power failure unless you kept ice or dry ice in the refrigerator. If not, discard.

Posted on: 2/14/2005 3:16:40 PM