I need advice please? Can anybody share from their experience, if their power went out for 27 hours what they needed to throw away in the refrigerator because it went bad?
Itโs hard for me to tell, everything still looks OK and Iโm scared ๐
@NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch You can check your eggs by putting enough water in your sink to see if they float or sink. If they float, throw them away.
@Tacitus_Kilgore @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch
What a great tip. But what happens to cause that?
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch Gases start building up inside the shell from the albumen breaking down.
@Tacitus_Kilgore @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch
Thank you. Makes sense.
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch Farm fresh eggs don't necessarily need refrigeration so long as they are kept at a comfortable room temperature. Mass produced eggs are a little more venerable because of the lack of natural nutrients. You can see the difference in color of the yolk and thickness of the albumen in a farm fresh egg due to raising conditions. They are far more robust than mass produced.
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch I live in a farming/fishing community. We get all of our proteins locally.
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch We really are and it's something I'm grateful for. Especially when we see the quality and prices of our big chain grocery stores.
@LnzyHou @NiveusLepus @Armchaircouch It's actually quite amusing depending on who we get eggs from. You can open the carton and get all white eggs, all brown eggs, a mix of white and brown and even some pale green or blues. Depends on the breed of the hen.๐
they're sunk! :) @Tacitus_Kilgore @NiveusLepus
@Armchaircouch ๐ค you want the odds or straight up advice? ๐คฃ ๐
It all depends on what was in there. I'd get rid of milk. Lettuce might not be so good. Check the freezer to see if things have melted. Frozen meats that thawed and re-froze might be problematic. But if you never opened the fridge during that 27-hour period, most things are lprobably okay.
@Armchaircouch ok so I had my power go off for three days. Came back on third night late. I only opened my fridge once quick. The only thing that went bad was popsicles and ice cream melted in my freezer. Everything else was good. Do not open at all if you can help it. Mine all survived except those two things were a bit melty.
@Armchaircouch generally, Iโve read that a refrigerator can be safely without power for 4 hours, while a freezer can go much longer.
i did a search and found this โwhat to tossโ list:
https://www.health.com/food/how-long-food-lasts-in-fridge-no-power
This is helpful, very much thank you! @peeppeepcircus
@Armchaircouch Did you have a temperature monitor on it? What was the house temps? Did you keep it closed? Your frozen goods, if not melty, are likely fine. I would trust your nose, TBH.
Not good news if it got above 40.
The issue is bacteria has a chance to grow. And you have an increase chance of spoilage over a shorter time
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2021/food-safety-when-power-is-out.html
Ty!! helpful information there.
I have decided to toss all of my open dairy or vegan sauce containers, any leftovers that I had in a Tupperware, everything else looks good, and is unopened or a whole veggie :) @Kinnison
@Armchaircouch I'm in the "if in doubt, throw it out" camp. Food poisoning sucks.
I did that with a few things I was unsure of. I was like โฆ. Should I just tryyy this opened thing of Kimchi?? ooor not risk a painful gastric deathโฆ
๐ tossed it!! @evistre
@Armchaircouch @evistre If it makes you feel any better, I need to toss out coleslaw from Fourth of July.
@chaddus2_0 @Armchaircouch @evistre Stillโฆ ๐๐โจ: )
What?! why so hasty? Smell or taste test first!! ๐ @chaddus2_0 @evistre
@Armchaircouch @evistre Thought I might make some kimchi
โฆdo iiiiitt ๐ @chaddus2_0 @evistre
@Armchaircouch If it's meat, or a vegetable in need of refigeration, if there's any doubt, throw it out. Typically groceries from the store that require refrigeration are only good for 3 hours outside of it.
Your fridge staying shut during that time will act like a cooler, but after 27 hours, I'd be highly suspect of anything that requires refrigeration that wasn't frozen.