Whether
the power to your refrigerator and freezer is interrupted by a power outage or
the appliance has just quit working, the food involved must be handled
safely.
The
following information is provided by the Food Safety and Inspection
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.For additional food safety information, contact the USDA at
1-800-535-4555 or visit www.fsis.usda.gov
Keep
refrigerator doors closed.Refrigerated
food should be safe for about 4 hours.But milk, dairy products, eggs, meats and all cooked foods spoil
quickly.Discard these foods
if the temperature in the refrigerator rises above 40 degrees for two
hours or more.
Keep
the freezer doors closed.Food
in a full, free-standing freezer will stay at freezing temperatures for
about 48 hours without power, a half-full freezer will stay frozen about
24 hours.If a freezer is not
full, move packages together to insulate them and keep them as cold as
possible.
Frozen
foods that have partially or completely thawed before power is restored
may be refrozen safely if there are still ice crystals or the food’s
temperature is 40 degrees or below.
Don’t
taste food that has an odd color or smell.When in doubt, throw it out.Also,
if it isn’t safe for you, it isn’t safe for your pet.
The
following information is reprinted from the Food Safety and Inspection
Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
General Rule: As long as the power has been out less than 2 hours, food
will be safe.
