By ELLEN SERFUSTINI
USU Extension Agent/Carbon County
Mother Nature can be pretty ferocious at times. Severe weather conditions can interrupt food and water supplies and cripple power sources. It is important to know what to do to assure that your food supply is safe in case the power goes out or storms limit access to food and water. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a few simple procedures before, during and after can ease the consequences of a power outage or weather emergency when it occurs.
Before a storm:
• Freeze containers of ice to keep food cold or to melt if the water supply is contaminated or unavailable.
• Keep coolers handy to use with frozen gel packs to keep food cold if power is out for more than 4 hours.
• Place appliance thermometers inside your refrigerator and freezer if they do not have one. Refrigerator temperatures should be 40° F or slightly lower. Freezer temperatures should be 0° F or colder.
• Have bottled water on hand for drinking.
• Have at least a three day supply of nonperishable food such as canned goods and boxed milk.
• Have unscented household bleach on hand for disinfecting.
If the power does go out, limit the opening of the refrigerator and freezer to maintain cold temperatures. A fully stocked freezer will keep food frozen for approximately 48 hours and if half stocked, food will stay frozen for 24 hours. Packages of frozen food act as blocks of ice protecting the food around it.
If power is restored within these time periods, you don’t have to do anything. Food can safely be refrozen if it still contains ice crystals. If the freezer can’t be restarted within that time period you may want to place dry ice on empty shelves around the items to be kept frozen—not directly touching the packages themselves. Twenty-five pounds of dry ice should hold a 10 cubic-foot freezer below freezing for 3-4 days. If the freezer is half full, it will keep it for 2-3 days.
When to discard food
Food in a refrigerator will stay good for approximately four hours. If power is not restored in this time period, put food in coolers with ice cubes, frozen ice blocks, or frozen gel packs. Otherwise, any food that has been in the refrigerator or freezer at or above 40° F two hours or more should be discarded. This includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, soft cheeses, and leftovers. Unopened condiments are still safe, however. Remember unsafe food can look normal and does not always smell bad. If you are not sure it is safe-throw it out!
If your water supply has been compromised, you can make it safe to drink by straining cloudy water through a clean cloth, or let it settle, drawing off the clear water. Boil it for one minute. This will kill most disease-causing organisms. If boiling is not possible, it can be disinfected by adding 1/8 teaspoon of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water. Stir and then let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. This treatment will kill some, but not all types of disease-causing organisms.
Do not eat any food from cans that have been frozen. Freezing stresses the can and may ruin the seal. Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water. Discard food that is not in a waterproof container if there is any chance that it has come into contact with flood water. Non-waterproof containers include any with screw-caps, snap lids, pull tops, and crimped caps.
Discard cardboard juice, milk, baby formula boxes and home canned foods if they have come in contact with flood water. These cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitized. Discard any canned goods that have been damaged. For undamaged canned goods, wash cans in hot, soapy water then sanitize by immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water. Relabel contents with a felt tip marker.
Keeping these tips in mind will help keep your food safe if you lose power or encounter emergency weather conditions.
The source of this information was “A Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety,“ www.fsis.usda.gov