Frozen Food Tips

Refrigerator Tips

Expect food inside to stay safely cold for four-six hours.
High-Protein Foods (dairy products, meat, fish, poultry) cannot be stored safely at room temperature.
Fruits and vegetables can be kept at room temperature safely until there are obvious signs of spoilage (mold, slime, and wilt). They will last longer at room temperature, so remove from your refrigerator if power is not restored quickly.

Use of Frozen Food That Has Thawed

You may safely refreeze some foods that still contain ice crystals and are cold to the touch or if they have been kept below 45 degrees F for no more than 2 days. If the temperature is above 45 degrees F, throw it out.

Treat completely thawed foods as follows:

Fruits: Refreeze fruits if they taste and smell good.
Frozen Dinners: Do not refreeze frozen dinners. Thawed frozen foods and frozen dinners should be cooked immediately if they are still cold.
Vegetables: Do not refreeze thawed vegetables, as the bacteria in these foods multiply rapidly. Spoilage may begin before bad odors develop and may be very toxic. Refreeze vegetables only if ice crystals remain throughout the package. If you question the condition, THROW THEM OUT.
Meat and Poultry: Meat and poultry become unsafe to eat when they start to spoil. Check each package of thawed meat or poultry. Don't use if odor is offensive or if the freezer temperature has exceeded 45 degrees F for 2 hours or longer. Discard all stuffed poultry. Immediately cook thawed, but unspoiled, meat or poultry.
Fish and Shellfish: These foods are extremely perishable. Do not re-freeze unless ice crystals remain throughout the package. Seafood may be spoiled even if it has no offensive odor.
Ice Cream: Do not refreeze melted ice cream.

Use common sense: If any foods have an offensive or questionable odor, do not eat them.

Using Dry Ice in a Power Failure

The more dry ice you use, the longer food will stay frozen. Please follow these guidelines for using and handling dry ice:

Wear gloves when handling dry ice, and DO NOT TOUCH DRY ICE WITH YOUR BARE HANDS to avoid frostbite and tissue damage.
For each 12-24 hour period, place a 10-pound slab of dry ice on bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
Move any food from the freezing compartment to the storage compartment of the freezer.
Place boards or heavy cardboard on top of packages. Place dry ice on top of the boards. In an upright freezer, place ice on each shelf.
You may cover the freezer with blankets, quilts or some other covering, but do not block or cover air vent openings. It also will help to place crumpled newspaper or similar materials between the cabinet and the blankets.