qHurricanes Harvey and Irma have left millions in the U.S. without power. Among the things hurricane victims will inevitably have to come home to are their warm refrigerators.
Since it is hurricane season and Hurricane Jose is looming, it’s best that we are prepared for potential outages that lead to refrigerators full of spoiled food.
So, what exactly can you save and what do you have to throw out after a food outage?
Here are the main things you need to know, according to FoodSafety.gov:
Keep It Closed
Your food should be safe in the refrigerator if you are without power for no more than 4 hours. Avoid opening the door and keep it closed as much as you can. Your food will stay colder if its shut. A full freezer will hold its temperature for 48 hours and a half freezer will hold for 24 hours.
Try the One Cup Tip
Place a cup of water in your freezer until it is frozen solid. Place a quarter on top of your frozen ice cup and leave it in the freezer. When you come back to your refrigerator you’ll be able to tell if your freezer unfroze, stayed frozen, or refroze when the power was off.
If the quarter is at the bottom your freezer defrosted and everything should be tossed out. If the quarter is on top or in the middle your food may still be OK.
Toss After 2 Hours
You’ll want to discard foods like meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and other leftovers that have been left in temperatures of 40 degrees F or less for more than 2 hours. You’ll also definitely want to throw away food that smells weird, looks weird, have a weird texture, or are warm in temperature.
Other items that should be tossed include:
- Dairy products like milk cream, sour cream, yogurt
- Mayonnaise-based foods
- Garlic in oil
- Cooked vegetables
- Vegetable juice
- Pre-cut/pre-washed greens
- Desserts
- Refrigerated dough
- Opened sauce jars
- Opened cream-based dressing
- Fish/oyster sauce
- Cut fruit
- Custards/pudding
- Baby formula
- Low fat, shredded, and soft cheeses
- Gravy/Broth
- Pizza
- Open canned foods
Toss Anything That Touches Raw Meat Juice
It’s very important to toss out anything that has come into contact with melted raw meat juice. You can help prevent this by putting your meat and poultry on one side of the freezer or in a tray to prevent any thawing juices from touching anything else.
Never Taste Test Your Food
This may be obvious, but you should never taste your food in order to test its safety or freshness. When in doubt, throw it out!
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