It could be days before power is restored across western Pennsylvania, following severe storms Tuesday evening. That means a lot of food will spoil and need to be thrown out.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 150-thousand Duquesne Light customers remained without power.
The Allegheny County Health Department offered tips to protect food as long as possible and most importantly, protect yourself and your family from ingesting unsafe food.
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The first tips apply before an outage happens. Keep thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer. You want your refrigerator to stay at or below 40 degrees and your freezer at or below zero degrees.
Once power goes out, the clock starts. Keep doors to both your refrigerator and freezer closed. That will help keep items cold for as long as possible.
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“If it’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, then it’s actually still safe to consume. Frozen foods could be re-frozen to use later or you could refrigerate those foods even as temporary measures,” said Amanda Mator, food safety program manager with the Allegheny County Health Department.
“After four hours without power, throw out refrigerated foods like meat, fish, eggs, milk and leftovers. Throw away food that is an unusual color, odor or texture,” Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said during a news conference Tuesday morning.
After four hours, experts say it is time to move perishable foods from the refrigerator to a cooler with ice. You want the temperature in the cooler to stay at 40 degrees or below.
Officials said the food in your freezer should be safe for 24 hours in a half-full freezer and for 48 hours in a full freezer.
Mator said when in doubt, throw it out, and do not taste food to see if it’s safe. Food can taste normal even when it’s not safe to consume.
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