Do’s and Don’ts of Food Safety After a Power Outage

Published: Aug 27, 2024 Duration: 00:01:24 Category: Education

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[Music] When our foods come up above 41 degrees, that is when a lot of bacteria can produce much more quickly. Hi, my name's Diana Guevara. I am a registered dietitian at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health with the Nourish Program. So today, we're here to talk about what to do when the power goes out. You've got your fridge and your freezer—what's safe, what's not safe? So, we've got certain foods that are called TCS foods—temperature-controlled for safety foods. So, these are going to be mainly your protein foods, things like your meats, your dairy products, also your leftovers, your cooked grains, so things like rice, cooked potatoes, things like that. Those are the ones that we're gonna really be careful around. If your power goes out, but it comes back within four hours, your food is actually considered to be safe. If you think it might be longer, that's when you can start thinking about some preparations. If your freezer is full, your food should stay safe for about 48 hours. If it's half full, it's 24 hours. Alright, so when the power goes out, remember, don't panic. Keep your refrigerator doors closed. Keep that air cool, and if in doubt, you gotta throw it out. [Music]

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