K-State Research and Extension

September is National Preparedness Month. It is also our annual Prepare Kansas online challenge. Prepare Kansas 2019 will provide tips on keeping food safe in emergency situations. Kansans and anyone interested in planning ahead for emergencies can follow the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page and this blog at any time during September, pick up handy information and interact with K-State extension specialists and agents. No registration is required. Today’s post is written by Londa Nwadike, State Extension Consumer Food Safety Specialist for Kansas and Missouri.

If you are in the middle of a power outage, some key steps should be taken to ensure that your perishable food (food that requires refrigeration or freezing for safety) stays safe for as long as possible.  It is very important to keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible so that the cold air inside will not escape.  If the refrigerator doors are kept closed, the food inside could remain at a safe temperature for up to 4 hours.   If the freezer doors are kept closed, a full freezer could remain at a safe temperature for up to 48 hours (24 hours if the freezer is half full, as the frozen items in the freezer can help to keep the other items cold as well).

If the power is off for more than 4 hours, the most perishable items in the frig should be moved to a cooler with ice to keep them at a safe temperature. If you don’t have enough space in your cooler, you don’t need to include foods that don’t actually require refrigeration such as fresh whole fruits and vegetables, hard and processed cheeses, fresh herbs and spices, and nuts. (A more detailed list of foods that don’t actually require refrigeration for safety is available from this USDA publication).  It is also important to include a thermometer in the cooler to be sure the food is staying below 40F for safety. If perishable foods get too much warmer than 40F, microorganisms that can make you sick can grow more rapidly. If you see that the temperature of the cooler is getting above 40F, add more ice/ frozen ice packs and if needed, drain off some of the water in the cooler.

If the power has been off for close to 24 hours, or if you have been told that the power will be off for more than 24 hours, you will need to use dry ice or block ice to keep the foods in the freezer cold enough for safety.  You will need to find a source of either dry ice or blocks of ice that you can safely use in your freezer.  Dry ice may be sold by some larger grocery stores, or check the telephone book yellow pages (online or in print), with your power company, or with a local dairy or cold-storage warehouse to obtain dry ice.   It is important to be sure that the dry ice or block ice and any containers used to hold it are intended for contact with food so that the ice itself does not contaminate your food.  For a full 18 cubic foot freezer, 50 pounds of dry ice should keep food frozen for 2 additional days.