Would you eat food if your power was out for 13 hours?

[conflictgirl]

Our power went out yesterday for 13 hours. My husband and I are having a disagreement about whether or not the perishable food in our fridge is still safe to eat. He says yes; I say no. I have looked up food safety websites that say to throw out refrigerated food if the power is out for 4+ hours but he remains unconvinced. My sister's power went out last night and she threw out all her meat and dairy.

My husband says that it's just paranoid to throw out food and that most people would agree. So I'm posting it here to see what others say. (I probably won't tell him the results either way, because he's already made it clear that he won't be convinced, but I'd like to know anyway.)

[ecstatic]

1. It's just not worth the risk! Throw it out :-) nt

[Sanity Claws]

2. Don't know

If the food was frozen and is still partly frozen and not mushy, that might be okay. I'd be tempted to keep it.
Meat and dairy kept in the main part of the fridge should be tossed.

[LeftyMom]

3. I'd toss stuff

and I don't even have meat or dairy. Definitely those things should go. Food poisoning is not worth the risk.

[pitohui]

22. there isn't any risk

"i don't even have meat or dairy"

is it too much ask that people not give advice when they don't know what the heck they are talking abt?

i do have meat and dairy and i've been thru many storms and power outages of days or longer

your advice is wasteful and more than that it's WRONG

[Blue-Jay]

4. Just eat it. It's still good. Eat the steaks first.

Might wanna toss the pork & chicken though.

[AlCzervik]

5. when in doubt throw it out.

[everythingsxen]

6. Pitch it

[sendero]

7. It depends entirely on..

... what food you are talking about.

Leftovers, no way.

Food that was frozen and thawed, maybe.

Fresh fruits and veggies, no problem.

[eyesroll]

8. Hard cheeses, condiments, and uncut fruits and veggies should be safe.

Unopened yogurt, cured sausages, butter/margarine, pickles, etc. should be OK too. Anything with a high acid content should be OK. Eggs in the shell should be OK (people in many countries don't refrigerate them), but use them up quickly.

I'd pitch milk, soft cheeses, opened yogurt, raw ground meat, fish, poutlry, cat food, leftovers.

[ikojo]

9. Depends on what it is and how many times the

refrigerator door was opened during the 13 hours w/o power. If the door was kept shut then I think it would be OK to eat the food.

If you throw out anything, can't you claim the loss on your homeowner's policy?

[conflictgirl]

15. Mostly meat and dairy

The fridge was opened 2-3 times in those 13 hours w/o power.

I don't think we can claim the loss on our homeowner's policy because the total of the food lost is nowhere near our deductible. I'm not sure though. I never think of claiming anything under my homeowner's policy unless it's catastrophic. Maybe I should. :think:

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. Human test subject: conflicthusband

If he's willing to eat it, then that would be a good way to test for toxin. ;)


As for me, I would not eat meat, dairy, or leftovers. Fruits, veggies, and unopened jars are probably okay.

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. Well, when we experienced the "Great Blackout" a few summers

ago we ate everything in our fridge in those three days (there was no ice to be had anywhere in the city) and here I am talking to you. I think the websites are full of crap. When my dad was a kid, his mom would leave dinner on the table overnight and they'd pick at it for breakfast in the morning. He's still alive too. ;) :hi:

[conflictgirl]

14. You're probably right

I chose not to eat it though. I have stomach problems as it is and am just recovering from an illness, so I didn't want to take my chances. He ate food he made from the fridge and fed it to the kids. So far they seem okay. But I'm still glad I didn't eat it.

He pretty much agrees with you that the websites are full of crap. I suspect that people who eat stuff like that all the time probably have stronger immunity to eat. My grandma leaves food out all the time and eats it, and she never gets sick. But if I eat at her house, I get sick. Go figure.

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. You have to do what is best for you. I think you did the right thing.

:hi:

I know there are times when I have questions about certain things in the fridge, and then I will pitch them. My father is Depression era child so they were used to it more i think.

[SOteric]

12. Fine. Let him eat it. You go out for pizza.

[onecent]

13. It won't kill you. If it was in the frig all that time, it should be oK.

[smoogatz]

16. If it smells okay--

it's probably okay. If it doesn't, it isn't.

[Rabrrrrrr]

18. Well, hell, as long as the fridge was closed and you weren't constantly

opening the door to see how cool it still was, 13 hours is nothing.

If everything still feels cool, and it should unless you have Jackie Gleason's honeymooner's fridge, you're fine.

[brook]

19. Anything

that remained at 42 degrees or less is safe. The question is did your food warm to a higher temp during the outage?

Was everything in a 'puddle'? The look and smell of the food is also a clue.

When cooking anything that's been through a 'forced' defrost - be sure to cook it to over 140 degrees.
IMO, 180 degrees would be better.

I work for a food program and our central kitchen experienced a power outage yesterday and those are the guidlines we followed.

[Kajsa]

20. Food poisoning is the worst!

Been there, done that, wanted to DIE!!

I wouldn't risk any dairy products or fish.

The rest meat, chicken, is very iffy.

Fruits and vegetables should be OK.

[pitohui]

21. it's fine been thru it many a time

depends on the food of course, you know that if it was seafood or mayonnaise you can't eat it

but 13 hours is NOTHING if the freezer is kept closed, so everything in the freezer is OK, and most things in the fridge are OK

your sister is silly and her insurer is not going to be best pleased, yes, they are supposed to cover spoiled food but after only 13 hours? they prob. won't pay because they will think she is trying to cheat them

as far as dairy, butter and cheese were invented BECAUSE refrigeration didn't exist back then, and eggs lasted for days if not weeks w.out spoiling under the bird in question, so butter, cheese, egg-in-shell are all fine

milk you can taste test, if it's sour, it can still be used for baking such as gingerbread, sour milk is perfectly healthy of course

and it prob. isn't even sour

so throwing out dairy is just stupid

with meat, COOKED food gets suspicious sitting around unchilled for hours or days but uncooked food gets a little more time