By Chowning Johnson
University of Georgia
When a storm knocks out their electricity, people need to know
when frozen foods are still safe to eat. University of Georgia
experts warn that if certain foods aren’t kept cold, they could
be dangerous to your health.
Keep food cold
“Ideally, when the power goes out, the first thing you should do
is place a refrigerator/freezer thermometer in the freezer, if
there isn’t one already in there,” said Elizabeth Andress, an
Extension Service food safety specialist with the University of
Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
The recommended temperature for food storage in refrigerators is
40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. If the freezer stays as cold as
the refrigerator, many foods will be safe to use or refreeze,
Andress said.
Dry ice can also help save many foods in your freezer. “A
50-pound block of dry ice will protect food in a 20-cubic foot
freezer for three to four days,” Andress said.
The amount of food in the freezer will determine in part how long
the food will stay frozen. The fuller the fridge, the longer the
food will stay frozen while the power is off.
If it’s packed, Andress said, the freezer will hold its
temperature about 48 hours if you don’t open it. If it’s
half-full, it will hold its temperature only 24 hours. “The
question of safety becomes a bigger issue the longer you’re
without power,” she said.
Rule of thumb
Perishable foods need to be thrown away if their temperature or
the freezer temperature rises above 40 degrees. Different foods
have specific telltale signs for deciding what to keep and what
to discard:
Meat and poultry. If the freezer
stays 40 degrees or lower, meat and poultry may be refrozen if it
has no signs of spoilage, such as off odor and off color.
If they have any sign of spoilage or the freezer or food has
reached more than 40 degrees, dispose of them. If you don’t have
a thermometer, refreeze only the meat or poultry that still
contains ice crystals.
If any foods in the refrigerator or freezer have come in contact
with raw meat juices, throw them out, too.
Shellfish, vegetables and cooked
foods. If the freezer maintains a temperature of 40
degrees or below or the food still has ice crystals, it may be
refrozen. Otherwise, like meat and poultry, discard it. If any
vegetables show signs of spoilage, throw them out, regardless of
temperature.
Fruits. Fruits have the least
amount of quality damage during thawing. If they don’t show any
signs of spoilage, you may safely refreeze them. However, the
texture won’t be the same after refreezing. Thawed fruits may be
used in cooking or making jams, jellies or preserves.
Ice cream. Throw it out if it’s
partially thawed. Freezer or ice cream temperatures higher than
40 degrees could cause ice cream to be unsafe.
Creamed foods, puddings and cream
pies. These are safe to refreeze only if the freezer has
stayed 40 degrees or below. If it rises above 40, discard them.
Breads, doughnuts, cookies, cakes and
nuts. These may be refrozen as long as they show no signs
of mold growth. They typically refreeze better than most foods.
Shelf life. “If you plan to use
the food that has been thawing in the freezer while the power is
out, make sure it has maintained a temperature of 40 degrees or
below. And use it within two to three days,” Andress said. “Treat
it as if you had been deliberately thawing it in the
refrigerator.”
While refrozen food is safe to eat if you follow these tips, you
may need to offset some degree of quality loss by using it sooner
than you may have originally planned.
To learn more about these and other food safety topics, contact
the UGA Family and Consumer Sciences Extension through your
county Extension office.
(Chowning Johnson is a student writer with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
