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11 Tips for Keeping Food Safe When the Power Goes Out
A couple of years back, 600 million people in India were without power for two days. It was not only lights out – but lights out for half of the population. Can you imagine the chaos?
More recently, there have been significant power outages in North America. In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy brought high winds and coastal flooding to a large portion of the eastern United States, leaving an estimated 8 million customers without power. Not quite as bad but serious none-the-less, the ice storms of December 2013 cumulatively left over 1 million people without power.
When the power goes out (commonly called “grid down”), so do transportation systems, manufacturing systems, communications systems and of course, household systems. And what about those household systems? The first thing that comes to mind is heating and cooling when the temperate drops to below freezing or the heat swelters to 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 80% humidity.
Personal comfort aside, there is a big issue with our dependence on refrigeration in keeping food safe. In recent weeks, I have been asked about food safety when the grid is down. One of the more specific questions has been “what is safe to eat after thawing and being re-frozen following a power outage?”.
I can not say that I am an expert on the subject but I can share some guidelines to follow when the power grid goes down for more than a few hours.
Keeping Food Safe When the Power Goes Out
1. Place appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and the freezer. After a power outage, check the temperature to determine whether your food is still safe to consume. Safe temperatures are 40°F or lower in the refrigerator, 0°F or lower in the freezer.
2. Keep your freezer as full as possible. Fill empty juice or milk jugs with water and keep them in the freezer (unless you need the space for food, of course). If the power grid goes down, you can use these frozen blocks of ice to maintain the cold temperature in your refrigerator and/or to keep the temperature in your freezer colder for a longer period. A full freezer will hold its temperature for about 48 hours but only 24 hours if half-full.
3. Place ice cubes in zipper type bags and place them in the freezer. Later, if the power goes out, keep the freezer door closed. When the power is restored, leave the freezer door closed long enough for it to go back to its normal, freezing temperature. If the ice cubes have melted into a bag of solid ice, you will know that everything in the freezer thawed and is likely unsafe.
4. Have a minimum of a week’s supply of ready-to-eat food that does not require cooking or refrigeration after being opened.
5. Do not open the refrigerator and freezer doors unnecessarily. Take out what you need quickly then close the doors and keep them closed. A refrigerator will keep food cold for four to six hours if the door is kept closed.
6. Have coolers on hand that can be used to store the refrigerated foods that you think you will need for the short term. Use the frozen jugs of ice from your freezer to keep the food in your cooler cold. This will mitigate having to open and close the refrigerator door unnecessarily.
7. The following foods are generally safe to store at room temperature for a few days. Even if they are normally kept in the refrigerator, they will be safe to consume even if the power is out for 1 or 2 days.
• Butter and margarine
• Hard cheeses (such as Cheddar, Swiss)
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Fruit juices
• Opened jars of salad dressing, peanut butter, jelly, relish, barbecue sauce
• Mustard, ketchup, and olives
8. When the power comes back, check the temperature inside of your refrigerator and freezer. Discard perishable food that has been above 40°F for two hours or more. Definitely discard the following:
• Raw or cooked meat, poultry, seafood
• Meat-topped pizza, lunchmeat
• Casseroles, stews or soups
• Milk/cream, yogurt, soft cheese (such as feta and Brie)
• Mayonnaise, tartar sauce, or creamy dressings
• Cooked pasta, potato, rice and salads prepared from these foods
• Fresh eggs, egg substitutes
9. Check each item separately. Throw out any food that has an unusual odor, color, or texture, or feels warm to the touch. With frozen food, check for ice crystals. The food in your freezer that partially or completely thawed may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below.
10. Frozen foods that have been partially defrosted during an outage should be cooked or reheated to a minimum temperature of 160 degrees.
11. When in doubt, dump it. And never, ever taste food to determine whether it is safe to eat.
Food Safety Reference Charts
There are a number of food safety charts available at the FoodSafety.gov website. These charts can be used as a guide when determining whether your food is safe to eat following an outage. For some people, the charts may be on the conservative side – this is the US Government, after all – so there may be some individual instances where food may be safer for a period longer than shown, depending on how cold your refrigerator or freezer was to begin with.
You need to be mindful of your own comfort level. In my my own household, if the temperature goes above 36-38°F for any period of time – even 30 minutes – out it goes. You mileage may vary.
What to Eat When the Power Goes Out?
This is where your preps come into play. Canned goods, packaged goods and other items that do not require cooking are obvious.
But beyond that, having a simple rocket stove or other outdoor cooking device can save the day. Even if the only thing you do is boil water, having some way to heat your soup or activate some of your freeze-dried food will be a godsend. This is especially true if the power is out for days which calls attention to the question: do you have at least three days worth of food that does not require heating or cooking of any type?
The Final Word
Those who live off grid, including those who live in RVs and boats, typically rely on solar or generator power for their AC needs. Many also rely on propane to fuel their refrigerators an freezers.
For the rest of us, our reliance on electricity to keep our food safe is huge. Sure you can by insurance to cover any food loses following an outage, but like the gift that keeps on giving, a claim will likely result in increased premiums for years to come and who wants that?
The best time to prepare for an off grid emergency is now, while the power is still on. A low cost investment in freezer and refrigerator thermometers plus taking the time to store some frozen jugs of water may make the difference between having a full freezer and refrigerator of food or a dumpster full of smelly, spoiled and unsafe food.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Bargain Bin: Below are some items that will help you prepare for a power outage.
Taylor Freezer-Refrigerator Thermometer: This no-frills thermometer is the one I use. It is less than $6 with free shipping. At this price, there really is no reason not to monitor the temperature inside you refrigeration appliances. You will be surprised at how quickly the temperature rises when the door is left open for just a few minutes.
Wireless Refrigerator/Freezer Thermometer
Clear Mist 100 Hour Plus Emergency Candles: My number one choice for emergency candles. These liquid paraffin candle will burn for over 100 hours. These are also odorless and smokeless, making them a great emergency light source that can be extinguished and re-lit as often as needed. For the best deal, purchase a dozen at a time to get a discounted price. Be sure to also check out the Clear Globe attachment.
Coleman Candle Lantern: When the lights go out, there is nothing like a Coleman. They last forever because spare parts are always available. A candle lantern will not give out the bright light of say, a propane or kerosene lantern. On the other hand, candles are like to be available when other fuels are not. About $16.
Solo Stove: I was so impressed that I renamed this the “Amazing Little Solo Stove”. The price is $69.99 but for a small amount more, you can get a version that also burns alcohol.
EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove: Burning twigs and pinecones, this stove will cook a big pot of rice in under 20 minutes. The stove is solidly built and will burn charcoal as well. There is also a version that only burns biomass for slightly less money.
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11 Tips for Keeping Food Safe When the Power Goes Out is the latest article from Gaye Levy at Backdoor Survival.
Source: http://www.backdoorsurvival.com/11-tips-for-keeping-food-safe-power-out/
Did us.gov ask you to publish this drivel as part of their fear programming??? Everybody knows about this stuff. Better to make suggestions for what to do if the power looks like it’s going to be out for weeks, months.
BTW – are you all just maybe in bed with the fear programming? Day in and day out it sure looks that way.
now why would you type something so stupid and un-relative to the post…advice is given here not prophecy and if your power is out for months then you better get used to hunting again…there is your advice or fear programming as you so profoundly put it
The way I use to check temperature in the freezer without opening is with an inside/outside frost thermometer for a car/auto the outside probe thin cable goes past the door seal without leakage they are battery operated and some have adjustable temperature alarms included.
Probe should be sited by intake of internal freezer air circulator fan for most accurate reading.
The way thing been goin’…this is going to help a lot.
There are actually some great ways to have refrigeration in a ‘power-out’ situation. One of the greatest that few know unless they have an RV (recreational vehicle) is the use of your RV’s refrigerator.
For those unfamiliar with RV’s, most decent RV refrigerators are ‘dual power’, meaning they can run on 110-v AC (like your in-home refrigerator), but they also run on propane, like a Coleman Stove. If set up to run on propane, most require a 12-v deep cycle battery to power the ‘computer and pilot igniter’ systems, but this is easily handled with a $100 Wal-Mart deep cycle battery (just check it’s charge daily).
The RV refrigerators, new, are PRICEY. I replaced my 8-cu. ft. one about 5 years ago, and it set me back about $1,400. HOWEVER, you can often find them at ‘RV Junk Yards’ for half, or less, that amount. Just build a plywood box that it will fit in, basically a ‘refrigerator cabinet’, and put it into it. I built one for my hunting cabin for $400, total, including the new 20# propane tank, filled.
Then – turn on the gas, check your battery, and you have modern refrigeration. PERIOD. Move your ‘spoilable’ perishables from the house to the ‘backup’ you have in the garage, and then move it back when it’s all over with.
Just one way to keep milk, cheese and veggies cold and fresh, not to mention your unfrozen meats.
By the way, one of the best ‘propane refrigerator dealers’ as far as selection goes, is Lehmans’:
https://www.lehmans.com/c-181-gas-refrigerators-and-freezers.aspx
Thought I’d highlight them, as the ‘search term’ you actually are looking for is “GAS ABSORPTION REFRIGERATOR”, not normally ‘propane fridge’.
If you just want a ‘garage backup fridge’ your wallet can afford, you might just want something like you can get on Amazon. Search for:
Porta Gaz 61211 Silver 3-Way Portable Gas Refrigerator
It’s about $350, it’s tri-power (can do direct DC as well as AC and of course, Propane) – for those tough ‘bugout’ moments, and it’s about the size of a big Coleman conventional cooler – but enough to keep some meat, milk and cheese in, if the power goes out but you have a BBQ tank of propane laying around.
Hope this helps.