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For Electric Cooperative Members
For Electric Cooperative Members

Keep Food Safe When the Power Goes Out

Proper actions before, during and after an outage minimize hardship

Severe winds, lightning and even squirrels can temporarily cause the power to go out any season of the year. We understand power outages of any length can be frustrating, especially when your fridge is stocked with perishable foods.

Extended power outages are rare, but when they occur, it’s important to take food safety measures to avoid illness.

Here are a few outage-related safety tips to keep in mind.

Before an Outage

A good rule of thumb is to keep an emergency supply kit on hand. Be sure to include nonperishable food items like bottled water, powdered milk, canned goods, cereal and protein bars in your emergency kit.

If you have advance warning that an outage is possible, fill a cooler with ice—just in case the outage spans several hours.

During an Outage

If an outage occurs, do not open the fridge or freezer unless absolutely necessary. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. A half-full freezer will keep food frozen for about 24 hours and a full freezer for about 48 hours. If it looks like the power outage will last longer than four hours, move your important perishable items to an ice-filled cooler.

After an Outage

If refrigerated foods have been exposed to temperatures higher than 40 degrees for more than two hours, discard the items. If any foods have an unusual color, odor or texture, they should be thrown away.

Although most perishable foods should be thrown out after an extended outage, there are a few items that are safe to consume after a two-hour exposure to 40-plus degrees: properly wrapped hard cheese and butter or margarine; condiments like ketchup, mustard and relish; and peanut butter.

After an outage, always smell and inspect foods before consuming and remember: When in doubt, throw it out.