It is officially hurricane season. Yikes! One big concern is what to do with food in your
refrigerator and freezers if there is a power outage.

There are some things you can do that can help if the power should go off.

Since it’s still early in the season, one big suggestion is to start “eating down” the food in your freezer. This isn’t the time to stock up on expensive items. Begin to fill the freezer with ice cubes, containers of water and gel packs. These can be used to keep
refrigerators, freezers and coolers cold. You may also want to seek out sources of
additional ice, block ice and/or dry ice should you need it down the road.

Place an appliance thermometer in both your refrigerator and freezer. These are
important to help determine the safety of foods. Refrigerator temperatures should be at or below 41°F and freezer temperatures should be 0°F or below.

We don’t always get notice of power outages, but when we know there is a storm
coming, take time to freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk, and fresh meat
and poultry that you may not need immediately. Also, group food together in the
freezer. This helps the food to stay cold at a safe temperature longer.

If you’re home during a power outage you can monitor the situation. Begin by writing
down the time the power went off. This will give you a reference time.

We’ve all learned the “rules” about keeping the refrigerator and freezer doors closed
after the power goes off to keep the cold in. A refrigerator will keep food safe for up to
4 hours during a power outage. If the door stays closed, food will stay safe for up to 48 hours in a full freezer and 24 hours in a half-full freezer.

These are good estimates, but eventually you’re going to have to make the decision to open that door and evaluate the food inside. I wouldn’t wait till the 4 hours are up to look in the refrigerator because that may be too late. I’d start making educated
decisions sooner.

It’s a good idea to have a food thermometer on hand, too. Because the first thing you
need to do is check the temperature of the food items, milk or other liquids. It’s
important to keep food below 41°F. If you need to, add ice packs to the refrigerator or
pack foods into coolers with ice. Continue to monitor the temperature of the food. The key time and temperature combination to remember is that if food has been kept more than 4 hours above 41°F it may not be safe.

The same rules apply to the freezer, but you have a little more time. When you open the door to monitor the situation, check the temperature of both the freezer and the food. Obviously, food in the front, on the door or in small, thin packages will defrost faster than large, thick items or food in the back or bottom of the appliance. Frozen foods that have thawed, but still contain ice crystals or have remained at refrigerator temperatures — 41 °F or below– may be safely refrozen, however, the quality may suffer.

If you evacuate and can’t monitor the time and the temperature of your food, the
decisions are different. Take as much of the food with you as possible. If the power was off for more than 4 hours, you’ll have to assume the food in the refrigerator was above 41°F and it will need to be discarded.

If the power was off less than two days, the food in your freezer may not have thawed. It’s hard to determine without actual data.

One “trick” that may help is to freeze a partially filled bottle of water on its side. After
the water is frozen, move it to an upright position. When you check the freezer, if the
water is still frozen upright, you have a good indicator that it didn’t thaw. On-the-other-
hand, if the water has melted, you must assume so did the food. But, without knowing the actual temperature, you don’t know how warm it got. Remember the rule…. when in doubt, throw it out.

There are some great charts available from FoodSafety.gov that can help you determine the safety of foods in refrigerators or freezers during a power outage. I know this sounds old-school, but I suggest you print these and put with your hurricane kit. We all learned from the hurricane and floods last year that we might not have cell phones or internet. Printed guidelines may be helpful if this happens.

Is food in the refrigerator safe during a power outage? Use this chart to find out!

Is thawed or partially thawed food in the freezer safe to eat? Use this chart as a guide!

Also check out last week’s column on the ‘Coin in the Cup’.

Resources

• Food Safety.gov: Food Safety During Power Outage
• Safe Plates:
  • Preparing for a Hurricane
  • Foods to Keep and Discard After a Power Outage

Syracuse is a Family and Consumer Science team member and can be reached at N.C. Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center 910-253-2610 or by email at clsyracu@ncsu.edu