April 2, 1998

Check food in freezer, decontaminate kitchen items after storm

Food supplies and kitchenware often require immediate attention in the wake of a storm. The University of Minnesota Extension Service has the following recommendations:

• When electric power is out, food in a closed, fully-loaded freezer will usually stay frozen two days. In a freezer less than half full, food may not stay frozen more than one day. Move frozen food to another freezer at the end of two days.
• Thawed foods can be safely refrozen if they still contain ice crystals or if they are still colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't use foods that are above 40 degrees.
• Meat, fish, and poultry become unsafe to eat as soon as they start to spoil. When in doubt, throw them out.
• Discard and replace soft, porous plastic or wood items saturated by stormwater, since they cannot be sanitized. These include baby bottles, nipples, and pacifiers.
• Take apart any kitchen item that can be cleaned in pieces. If possible, remove handles from pots.
• If you don't have a dishwasher with a hot water cycle of at least 140 degrees F, wash all items in a strong detergent solution. Use a brush to remove dirt. Rinse in hot water and air dry. Do not use a towel.
• Immerse glass, porcelain, china, plastic dinnerware and enamel for ten minutes in a disinfecting solution of two tablespoons of chlorine bleach per gallon of hot water.
• Disinfect silverware, metal utensils, and pots and pans by boiling in water for ten minutes. Do not use chlorine bleach because it reacts with many metals and causes them to darken.

NHE5735

Source: University of Minnesota Extension Service
Editor: Joseph Kurtz, EDS, (612) 625-3168,pkurtz@extension.umn.edu

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