Preparing for blizzards and power outages

Blizzard warnings headed your way?  Here are some steps to take if you live in an area where you frequently lose power.

Before the storm arrives:

1.  Keep an appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer.  This will help you know just how warm it is getting inside those appliances.  Freezers should be 0°F or below, refrigerators below 40°F—nearer 32°F.
2. Use the cold temperature outdoors to freeze jugs of water to cool your food if the power goes off.
3. Freeze normally refrigerated foods like milk or meat—this will keep them at a safe temperature longer.
4. Learn where you may buy ice or dry ice locally—before the storm hits.
5. Have a cooler on hand to store refrigerated food if the power is off for more than 4 hours.

After the storm:

1. Keep the doors of the refrigerator and freezer shut as much as you can.  The food stored inside will remain cold longer if you do.
2. Know that you have about 4 hours to keep cold food safely—as long as the door remains closed.  The freezer, if it is full, will hold a safe temperature for about 48 hours.
3. Toss perishable foods like meat, poultry, fish, soft and shredded cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers, deli meat after 4 hours—or store them in the cooler before the 4 hours have elapsed.
4. Food may be safely refrozen, as long as: it is still mostly frozen, the food still contains ice crystals, or it is very cold-as if it has just been removed from the refrigerator—below 40°F.
5.  NEVER taste a food to see if it is still safe. 
6. Use your refrigerator and/or freezer as a cooler; add some ice or dry ice to cool the food inside.  Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days.
7. Check the food inside the appliances as soon as power returns.  That will help you determine if a food should be refrozen, saved, or tossed.

Remember, if you have questions about the safety of you food we can help you decide which foods are safe and which foods should be tossed.  We are as close as a phone call, email, or Facebook post away.

Liz Meimann

I received both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Food Science at Iowa State University. I love to quilt, sew, cook, and bake. I spent many years gardening, canning, and preserving food for my family when my children were at home.

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