With winter weather expected to affect much of South Carolina, power outages may disrupt food storage, making food safety a top concern for households across the state.
Clemson Cooperative Extension offers the following food safety tips to help families protect their food and reduce the risk of foodborne illness during and after an outage:
Monitor temperatures
- Use a thermometer: refrigerator 34 – 40°F; freezer 0°F or below. Food safety depends on temperature — not appearance or smell.
- Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
How long food stays safe
- Full freezer: ~48 hours safe
- Half-full freezer: ~24 hours
- Refrigerator: ~4 – 6 hours if unopened
During extended outages
- Group frozen foods tightly together; separate meats to reduce cross-contamination if thawing occurs.
- Use ice packs or dry ice for longer outages (about 3 lbs per cubic foot). Handle dry ice with gloves or tongs, ventilate well and avoid direct food contact.
- If the outage exceeds six hours, move refrigerated food to an ice-filled cooler kept at 40°F or below.
When to discard food
- Discard perishable foods held above 40°F for more than two hours.
- Never taste food to check safety — when in doubt, throw it out.
- Discard: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, soft cheeses, casseroles, soups, lunch meats, hot dogs, creamy dressings, custard or cream pies, cream pastries and cookie dough.
- Discard opened mayonnaise-based sauces if food exceeds 50°F for eight hours or more.
Foods usually safe at room temperature for several days
- Butter, hard cheeses, fruits and vegetables, bread, fruit pies, nuts, flour, peanut butter, vinegar-based condiments, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup and olives. Discard anything moldy or with an off odor.
Refreezing food
- Food with ice crystals can be refrozen.
- Thawed food kept at 40°F or below for two days or less may be cooked, then refrozen or canned.
Odors
- Clean refrigerators and freezers with baking soda or vinegar; use activated charcoal if odors persist.
Cooking safely without power
- Use grills, camp stoves or generators outdoors only.
- Never use charcoal or gas indoors due to carbon monoxide risk.
- Wood fires may be used in fireplaces if the chimney is sound and the damper is open.
- If building a fire outdoors, keep it well away from buildings and never in a carport.
