Keeping food safe during and after power outages

  • Published
  • By 49th Aeromedical Dental Squadron Public Health element
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Here are a few tips to keep food safe during a power outage:

Frozen Foods:

- Keep the freezer closed. Open the freezer only to take food out. With the door closed, food in most unopened freezers will stay below 40 degrees F up to three days, even in the summer.

- Follow these guidelines for completely thawed foods:
· Fruits. Re-freeze fruits if they taste and smell good. Fruit that is beginning to ferment is safe to eat, but will have an off-flavor. 

- Frozen dinners. Do not re-freeze frozen dinners that have thawed. Cook and eat thawed frozen foods and frozen dinners right away if they are still cold. If any foods are warm or smell bad, don't eat them. 

- Vegetables. Do not re-freeze thawed vegetables. Bacteria in these foods grow fast. Spoilage may begin before bad odors develop. Re-freeze vegetables only if ice crystals remain throughout the package. But, when in doubt, throw them out. 

- Meat and Poultry. Meat and poultry become unsafe to eat when they start to spoil. Examine each package of thawed meat or poultry. If odor is offensive or questionable or if the freezer temperature has exceeded 40 degrees F for two hours or longer, don't use the meat. It may be dangerous! Discard all stuffed poultry. Cook thawed but unspoiled meat or poultry right away. 

- Fish and shellfish. These spoil easily. Do not re-freeze unless there are ice crystals throughout the package. Seafood may be spoiled, even if it doesn't smell bad. 

- Ice cream. Do not re-freeze melted ice cream. Throw it out or eat it as a liquid before an off-flavor develops. 

Refrigerated Foods: 

- You can extend your food supply by cooking all unspoiled meat immediately. Cooked meat needs to be kept above 140 degrees Fahrenheit if it cannot be cooled below 45 degrees Fahrenheit within two hours. 

- Most chopped meats, poultry and seafood sandwich fillings should be discarded after two hours without refrigeration. 

- Raw chopped meats, like hamburger, spoil quickly. Pork, fish and poultry spoil quickly. 

- Dispose of them if they have been in the refrigerator without power for 12 hours or more. 

- Do not trust your sense of smell. 

- Hard cheese usually keeps well at room temperatures. Other cheeses, such as cream cheese, opened containers of cheese spreads and cottage cheese, spoil quickly. 

- Throw out when off-flavor develops. 

- If surface mold develops on blocks of cheese, slice 1-inch below the surface and discard. 

- Milk spoils quickly without refrigeration. Throw out spoiled milk. 

-  Custard, gravies and creamed foods should be disposed of if they have warmed to room temperatures. 

- Spoilage is difficult to detect since there may be no offensive odor or taste. 

- Commercially made baked goods with cream fillings and all foods containing high protein and moisture are not safe unless they have been stored in a cold place such as a cooler with ice. (Information courtesy of Public Health)