Even in this day and age with advanced technology, it is still possible that you have a power outage. Storms are notorious for knocking the power out and while it may be turned on again, there is no telling how long it will take.

If you and your client are in an area where power failures are frequent, they you may want to take some precautions and plan ahead in case it happens.

Plan ahead

Have an appliance thermometer in the fridge and the freezer. The fridge should be at 40 degrees F or below and the freezer at zero degrees or below.

• Keep foods close together as they will stay colder for longer packed tightly.
• Use bags of ice in the freezer to fill the spaces.
• Keep a large insulated cooler box at hand with frozen ice packs
• Make sure you know where you can buy extra ice from

What to do if the power goes off

Keep both fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Food in the fridge will be safe for up to four hours while the freezer will hold the temperature for about 48 hours if full and 24 hours if partially full.

The defrost test

A good idea to know if the freezer has completely defrosted or not. Freeze a cup of water and place a coin on top of the frozen water. Keep this in the freezer. 

If you suspect a power failure, look at the cup. If the water has melted and then frozen the coin will be at the bottom of the ice. 

This is an indication that any food in the freezer is not safe to eat as it would have also defrosted and frozen again. 

Foods to discard from the fridge

If the power has been off for more than 4 hours then some food in the fridge will not be safe to eat, namely:

• Leftover cooked meat, poultry, raw meat, eggs, and fish
• Hot dogs and luncheon meat
• Mixed salads such as potato salad, tuna salad, chicken mayonnaise
• Gravy and stuffing
• Soft cheeses, milk, cream
• Cut fruit and vegetables
• Open fruit juices
• Cream based salad dressing
• Cream filled pastries
• Any foods with an unusual smell, colour, or texture

Safe to eat foods include:

High acid foods like mustard, relishes, pickles, ketchup, jams. Foods which don’t really need to be refrigerated such as fresh fruits and veggies, dried fruits, baked items like bread, rolls, muffins, hard and processed cheeses, butter and margarine, nuts, herbs, and spices.  

Final thoughts

Never make a decision to taste food to see if it is safe. If you are in the slightest doubt about the length of the power failure and the state of the food, it is better to throw it out than to risk becoming ill from eating food which is contaminated. 

 

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