Health Commissioner Issues Advisory
about Food Safety after Power Outage
Suffolk County
Commissioner of Health Services Dr. James Tomarken today issued a food safety
advisory for residents who lost power in Monday night’s storm.
The following are
U.S. FDA tips for keeping food safe when your power is out:
- Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors
closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
- The refrigerator will keep food cold for
about 4 hours if it is unopened.
- A full freezer will keep the temperature for
approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains
closed.
- Buy dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator
as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period
of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic foot fully
stocked freezer cold for two days.
- If you plan to eat refrigerated or frozen
meat, poultry, fish or eggs while it is still at safe temperatures, it's
important that each item is thoroughly cooked to the proper temperature to
assure that any foodborne bacteria that may be present is destroyed.
However, if at any point the food was above 40 °F for 2 hours or more —
discard it.
- Wash fruits and vegetables with water from a
safe source before eating.
- For infants, try to use prepared, canned baby
formula that requires no added water. When using concentrated or powdered
formulas, prepare with bottled water if the local water source is
potentially contaminated.
Once Power is Restored . . .
- You'll need to determine the safety of your
food. Here's how:
- If an appliance thermometer was kept in the
freezer, check the temperature when the power comes back on. If the
freezer thermometer reads 40°F or below, the food is safe and may be
refrozen.
- If a thermometer has not been kept in the
freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. You can't
rely on appearance or odor. If the food still contains ice crystals or is
40 °F or below, it is safe to refreeze or cook.
- Refrigerated food should be safe as long as
the power was out for no more than 4 hours and the refrigerator door was
kept shut. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs
or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.
- Keep in mind that perishable food such as
meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately
refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are
thoroughly cooked.
For more information, visit the FDA website at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm076881.htm
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