Food
Safety

Make safety the main course

Open refrigerator and freezer doors only when you need to to keep your food as fresh as possible. An unopened refrigerator can keep foods cold enough for a couple of hours. A half full freezer will stay cold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours. If you must eat food that was refrigerated or frozen, check it carefully for signs of spoilage.

Perishable foods should not be held above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 2 hours. If an outage is likely to be longer than 2 hours, pack refrigerated milk, dairy products, meats, fish, poultry, eggs and leftovers into your cooler surrounded by ice. Then pack a separate cooler for your frozen items.

Shelf-stable foods, such as canned and dry goods and powdered or boxed milk, can be eaten cold or heated on a grill. A digital quick-response thermometer is the best way to check if food is fresh.

Food Safety Tips

Not all food should be thrown out after a power outage. As soon as the power returns, check temperatures. If the food in the freezer has ice crystals and is not above 40 degrees you can refreeze. Perishable foods in the refrigerator should not be above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours.

When you go to bed, leave a bedroom light switched on. It will wake you when power returns, so you can check the condition of your food.

If power goes out while you're out of the house, try to determine how long it has been out. Check the internal temperature of the food in your refrigerator with a quick-response thermometer. Liquids, such as milk or juice, are easy to check. Then check other items like steaks or leftovers. If the internal temperature is above 40 degrees, throw it out.

If you're away from home and power goes out and comes back on after less than 24 hours, and your freezer is fairly full, your food should be safe. If the refrigerator was out for more than 24 hours, you should get rid of perishables.