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Local Resources: Clinton County Health Department 816-539-2144
Freezer Food Safety
With the electrical storms that have been in the area lately, I’ve heard about some power outages but I hope I don’t hear about others soon! Whether a freezer is off because of the weather or because it was accidentally unplugged, it is good to know beforehand how to safely handle the food it contains.
When the freezer has been off, the basic guide in determining a food’s safety is whether or not it still contains ice crystals. If it does, the food should be refrozen as quickly as possible. It is a good idea to mark each package with an X, label as “Refrozen,” or otherwise designate that these items should be eaten first and as soon as possible.
When it comes to meats, only refreeze if ice crystals are present. When using these items later, it would be wise to use in casseroles like stew or chili to mask any off flavors. The texture of the meat may also be affected. Seafood is the exception. NEVER refreeze seafood. If there are ice crystals remaining, cook immediately.
If any food has thawed and there are no ice crystals in it, it should be thrown away. Or better yet, compost it and grow more food with that compost later.
While the electricity is off, keep the freezer - and refrigerator - door closed as much as possible. If the power continues to stay off, go into the refrigerator or freezer as few times and as quickly as possible. It means thinking ahead of what is in there and where it might be located, but a quicker trip in means less warmer air gets in and around foods and they can stay colder longer. In a fully loaded freezer, with the door closed, food will usually stay frozen for up to two days. If the freezer contains a lot of meat, this also helps prolong a colder environment. If the freezer contains many baked goods, or is only partially full, foods will not stay frozen as long. And a larger freezer keeps foods frozen longer than a smaller one can.
When power is restored, remove any foods that do not contain ice crystals, mark what’s left and turn the temperature colder on the remaining foods to refreeze them as quickly as possible.
For more information on this freezer food safety or any other topic, please contact your Local University of Missouri Extension center or contact me, Janet Hackert; Nutrition Specialist, at 660-425-6434.
University of Missouri Extension is the local link between the resources of the four University of Missouri campuses in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis; Lincoln University in Jefferson City; and people throughout the state.
University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam era veteran in employment or programs.
So, the Power Has Been Off! Now, What About the Food?
By Karma Metzgar
While most of Northwest Missouri escaped power outages due to the storms that swept through Missouri this week, there were a few calls about “What is still good in the fridge?” One call was from a mother whose daughter lives in the Albany area.
Who knows when an electrical storm, tornado, or for that matter any type of bad weather might take out the electricity! I’m going to share information with you I hope you NEVER have to use…but, just in case, consider it a short course in food safety.
When freezers or refrigerators are off for several hours whether it’s from a storm, forgetfulness or accidental, the food safety rules about what to keep or toss are the same. This column will review some basic rules of thumb for food safety. Why don’t you clip this column and post it beside your freezer or even on your refrigerator door?
Let’s start with the freezer. The basic guide is if the food still has ice crystals inside it, it can be refrozen. I suggest that you take a permanent marker or crayon and mark each package in the freezer with an “X” indicating that it was partially thawed. Any items which do not have ice crystals should be tossed.
What if you don’t know how thawed the food items were before the freezer came back on? If you notice blood on neighboring packages or in the bottom of the freezer, this is an indication of advanced thawing. At this point, since we are dealing with an unknown, the rule is “if in doubt, throw it out.”
What about the refrigerator? Since your refrigerator should be about 40 degrees or below during normal operation, two hours without power will mean you need to do some tossing.
Tossing is the hardest thing to do. But when we are in doubt, we need to throw out.
Here are some guidelines to help you salvage as much as possible.
All the following foods need to be tossed if kept more than two hours above 40 degrees.
Raw or cooked meat, poultry, fish Lunch meats and hot dogs
Hard cooked or cracked eggs Creamy-based salad dressings
Egg substitutes Custard, chiffon or cheese pies
Milk, cream yogurt or soft cheese Cream-filled pastries
Casseroles, stews or soups Cookie dough
The condiments in the refrigerator door like opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce and horseradish need to be tossed if they were held above 50 degrees for more than eight hours.
The following refrigerated foods should keep at room temperature a few days. Toss if they turn moldy or have an unusual odor.
Butter or margarine Taco Sauce Spices
Hard and processed cheese Barbecue Sauce Fruit pies, bread, rolls and muffins
Fresh fruits and vegetables Mustard Cakes, except cream-filled
Dried fruits and coconut Ketchup or cream-cheese frosted
Peanut butter Fruit juices Jelly
Relish Opened bottles of vinegar-based salad dressings
The Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Web site has a nice chart on specific foods and recommendations on salvaging or discarding after a power outage. View it at <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/pofeature.htm>.
In addition to food safety, don’t forget about water safety following a tornado (or flood). Drink only approved or chlorinated water. If you have a well, have it tested before drinking the water. Your local county health department has testing kits.
This information was taken from a fact sheet from USDA on Tornado Food Safety. If you have questions, contact your local extension center.
University of Missouri Extension is the local link between the resources of the four University of Missouri campuses in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla and St. Louis; Lincoln University in Jefferson City; and people throughout the state.
University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam era veteran in employment or programs.
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