Food Storage and Safety If your Power Goes Out

With bad weather comes power outages..
Do you know how to keep your food safe if your power happens to go out?

Here are some tips from the American Red Cross…

Food storage during an Emergency –
What do you need?
One or more coolers. Inexpensive Styrofoam coolers can do an excellent job.
Shelf-stable foods, such as canned goods and powdered or boxed milk. These can be eaten cold or heated on the grill.
A digital quick-response thermometer. A digital thermometer should be a necessity in your kitchen anyway. With these thermometers you can quickly check the internal temperatures of food for doneness and safety.

Food Safety during an Emergency
Do not open the refrigerator or freezer. Tell your little ones not to open the door. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold enough for a couple of hours at least. A freezer that is half full will hold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours. Instead, eat shelf-stable foods.
If it looks like the power outage will be for more than 2-4 hours, pack the important items in your refrigerator, such as milk, dairy products, meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and left-overs into your cooler surrounded by ice. Keep temperature at or below 40 degrees.
Throw away any items that have been exposed to temperatures greater than 40 degrees for more than two hours.
If it looks like the power outage will be prolonged beyond a day or so, prepare another cooler with ice for the items in your freezer.