A hurricane in Roanoke, VA can bring strong winds, heavy rain, floods, and snow. Food Safety and Inspection Services encourage people to take active steps to make sure that they have access to safe food. The safety of stored food is often affected by weather emergency impacts like flooding and power outages. Proper planning can reduce the issue of foodborne illnesses.
A useful published document titled, Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety: Severe Storms and Hurricanes, should be downloaded and kept in physical print form for any course of action during power outages. The FSIS has uploaded a YouTube video titled, Food Safety During Power Outages, which also includes instructions on how to safely store frozen and refrigerated foods.
The FSIS does provide relevant information about food safety through the @USDAFoodSafety Twitter feed as the storm unfolds. To receive tweets regarding food recalls along with weather-related food safety issues specific to your state, follow @XX_FSISAlert, and replace XX with your state’s name or territory’s zip code.
Preparation Steps for a Weather Emergency
- Your freezer and refrigerator have in-built appliance thermometers, use them for determining the safety of food for power outages. Keep refrigerator temperature below 40°F and freezer temperature below 0°F.
- Freeze refrigerated food items you may not need right away, such as leftovers, fresh meats, and poultry. This allows it to stay at a safe temperature for a longer time.
- Freeze water containers to get ice, which will help to cool your foods longer in your freezer, refrigerator, or cooler during a power outage. Melted ice can also be used as drinking water.
- Buy or make ice cubes and remember to freeze the gel packs ahead of time. Plan and know where you can buy a block of ice and dry ice if the situation calls.
- Have a cooler on hand to keep the refrigerated food chilled in case the power outage lasts longer than 4 hours.
What to Do if a Power Outage Takes Place?
Do not open the freezer and refrigerator doors often, keep them closed as much as you can. With the door closed, the refrigerator should keep food chilled for about 4 hours. A full freezer will maintain temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours in case of half full).
If the power outage lasts for an extended time, purchase dry ice or block ice to keep your refrigerator cool as it will require depending on the situation. Dry ice of fifty pounds will easily keep a completely stocked eighteen cubic-feet freezer cold for forty-eight hours. Your loved ones might need special care during these times, so provide it to them.
What to Do After Power is Restored?
Monitor the freezer and refrigerator temperatures without fail. Consider your food is safe if the thermometer reads 40°F or below. If you do have an attached thermometer in your freezer, monitor the temperature of each food package. Your food is safe as long as it has ice crystals, it is harmless.
Discard all perishable foods (poultry, fish, meat, eggs, milk, soft cheeses, leftovers, prepared foods, etc.) that have been stored in a freezer or refrigerator above 40°F for more than 2 hours. Do not taste the food items to determine their safety. If you have doubts, throw them away!
