Experts offer tips to keep food safe in power outage
Winter is coming, again, and hopefully you’ve done all you can to prevent against frozen pipes. Time to snuggle up under a blanket, right?
Not so fast. The storm arriving overnight Monday brings with it the potential for a power outage. Stoves won’t work. Freezers might thaw.
Experts suggest having a food safety and preparation plan in place before the lights go out.
According to an estimate by Stanfield Air System’s Rex Coker, a decently insulated and heated house will maintain a temperature above 50 degrees for at least 36 hours, depending on factors like how often doors are open. But a day and a half is plenty of time for food to spoil.
George Heard, owner of Heard’s Appliance Repair, said food in a freezer won’t fully defrost for three days. But a refrigerator will only keep food cool for up to four to six hours without power. Keep those fridge doors close, said Heard, and all your edibles won’t be lost. Good advice, but what happens when you want a bologna and mustard sandwich? Heard suggests throwing together a make-shift outdoor fridge.
“If it’s cold enough outside, wrap up your food, put it in a cooler and put it outside,” Heard said. “That will keep it cold.”
If you choose to follow Heard’s advice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests you take one extra precaution: make some ice and add it to the cooler.
Fill up a bucket with water and let it freeze outside, then place that homemade ice into the fridge, freezer or cooler to keep perishables safe.
The USDA does warn that placing your food outdoors exposes it to bacteria, animals and can even thaw out your perishables. It may feel cold outside, the agency advises, but direct sun can cause the food to thaw. If there’s a thermometer laying around, toss it in the cooler to monitor whether the temperature has risen above 40 degrees.
Clarke County Cooperative Extension Coordinator Judy Hibbs finds that many homes in Athens don’t have thermometers in the fridge.
If the temperature of a frozen foods doesn’t exceed 40 degrees, Hibbs says it’s still safe. The old rule of thumb, she said, was that if ice crystals were present, then the food was still safe. But as long as it didn’t get too hot, the food is still safe to eat, Hibbs said.
Having a thermometer, which can be picked up while grabbing snow day essentials, is the only way to be sure the food stayed cold, she said.
Hibbs notes that these rules are only for meat and dairy products, not fruits and vegetables. Plant-based foods can be cooled, warmed and cooled again without creating a food safety problem. But quality of the food will be reduced.
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension suggests every family keep an emergency food supply on hand for situations like this snow storm. For families that haven’t planned such a supply out beforehand, it’s not to late.
Before the storm hits, buy non-perishable foods from the grocery store, say UGA experts. Make sure those purchases included ready-to-eat meats, fruits and vegetables offered in amounts a family can consume in one sitting. Remember, those leftover can’t be refrigerated.
When stocking up before the storm, remember canned drinks like juice or powdered milk, and bottled water for drinking. Cooperative extension suggests two quarts of liquid per person per day. Hugh protein foods like peanut butter will come in handy while the power is out. And remember to double check any dietary requirements for infants or the elderly.
For power outage lunches, Hibbs said to stick to sandwiches made from canned goods like chicken or tuna.
“(Canned goods) aren’t always the healthiest choice, but in a pinch they’ll do just fine,” she said.
