How to Tell If Food Has Spoiled In The Freezer After A Power Outage

If you have a vacation home or if you have been away for an extended period, you might come home to a blinking alarm clock or VCR indicating a power outage. To help judge the safety of eating the food left in the refrigerator or freezer, you need to know roughly how long the power was off. Here is simple way to tell if the power was off long enough for the food to warm up to temperatures that could cause spoilage and food borne illness.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An Ice Cube
• A Small Plate

1. Place an ice cube on a small plate in your freezer.

2. When returning from a long absence, check to make sure the ice cube is still frozen.

3. A frozen pool indicates that the power was off for a period long enough for the food to warm up enough to pose a possible health risk. A partially melted ice cube indicates that the power was off for a shorter period.

4. If the ice cube is still totally intact your food should be OK - BON APPETIT.

Tips & Warnings

• As a general rule, frozen food should be kept at or below 0 degrees F and refrigerated meat, poultry, fish, and eggs should be kept at or below 40 degrees F.
• If you are at home when the power is lost, do not unnecessarily open the refrigerator and freezer doors. A refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is not opened. If a freezer door is not opened, the temperature will hold for about 2 days if it is completely full and for about 1 day if it is only half full.

[soanyway]

on 4/4/2009 What a very clever idea!