I found the fridge and freezer unplugged. Now what?
November 9, 2014 3:28 AM Subscribe
I found the fridge and freezer in my (6 person) shared house turned off at the plug socket this morning. The freezer temperature had got to -6 degrees C. I read that it should be -18 degrees C. My breakfast milk from the fridge was room temperature. I don't know when the plug had been switched off. My housemates have meat in the freezer. To avoid the risk of food poisoning, should I tell everyone to throw all their food out? If not everything, what should we prioritise getting rid of?
I wouldn't worry about anything in the freezer. Minus 6 is more than cold enough to prevent microorganisms from multiplying in the food.
Myself, I would also eat anything in the 'fridge, as long as it wasn't obviously "off". But then again, I have never been very concerned about spoilage. I grew up with parents who hated to waste food. My dad used to eat stuff that would make billy goat puke. And he's still alive and well.
posted by alex1965 at 4:20 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Myself, I would also eat anything in the 'fridge, as long as it wasn't obviously "off". But then again, I have never been very concerned about spoilage. I grew up with parents who hated to waste food. My dad used to eat stuff that would make billy goat puke. And he's still alive and well.
posted by alex1965 at 4:20 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Freezers and fridges prolong how long food stays edible, so the main thing you have to do is assume that all "best by" dates are no longer valid.
Give everything the smell test like you would if you noticed something was a few days past its stamped date.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:35 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Give everything the smell test like you would if you noticed something was a few days past its stamped date.
posted by Jacqueline at 4:35 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
If they were both switched off at the same time and the freezer was still at -6, the fridge couldn't have been off long enough to cause much spoilage . Fruits, veggies, cheeses, yogurt, condiments etc will be fine. Just question leftovers especially ones with cream sauces, meat gravies and other nice bacterial habitats.
posted by beagle at 4:42 AM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by beagle at 4:42 AM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
If there's any cooked rice in there, get rid of it. If any of the meat has thawed, cook it. According to the food safety course I did a few years ago, meat shouldn't be re-frozen after it has thawed. Cooked meat can be kept safely in the fridge (switched on, of course) for about three days.
Seconding finding out why the fridge was off. Surely there must be some kind of explanation.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:25 AM on November 9, 2014
Seconding finding out why the fridge was off. Surely there must be some kind of explanation.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:25 AM on November 9, 2014
I would get rid of everything, to be safe. But I am super cautious about what I eat.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:55 AM on November 9, 2014
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:55 AM on November 9, 2014
The freezer was still at -6C? That's still below freezing, I wouldn't be too concerned about the contents of the freezer, assuming you checked all items to see if they were still frozen. -18C as a guideline for freezers is more about how rapidly something becomes frozen and how quickly the temperature returns after the door has been opened; -1C would theoretically be fine as a maintenance temperature (as long as the freezer never cycled above -1).
The fridge on the other hand... if money isn't too much of a problem, I'd chuck anything likely to have spoiled: raw meats, milk/cream, leftovers--especially, as mentioned above, rice. No need to be concerned about veg, eggs (they're fine at room temp, really), shelf-stable condiments, that sort of thing.
nthing find out why on earth this is a thing that happened.
Give everything the smell test like you would if you noticed something was a few days past its stamped date.
No. Don't. The smell test is not reliable as an indicator of spoilage. It can only tell you when something is definitively bad, it cannot tell you that something is definitively good.
If they were both switched off at the same time and the freezer was still at -6, the fridge couldn't have been off long enough to cause much spoilage .
Not true. Freezers are usually more full than fridges, and will retain their temperature longer.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:01 AM on November 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
The fridge on the other hand... if money isn't too much of a problem, I'd chuck anything likely to have spoiled: raw meats, milk/cream, leftovers--especially, as mentioned above, rice. No need to be concerned about veg, eggs (they're fine at room temp, really), shelf-stable condiments, that sort of thing.
nthing find out why on earth this is a thing that happened.
Give everything the smell test like you would if you noticed something was a few days past its stamped date.
No. Don't. The smell test is not reliable as an indicator of spoilage. It can only tell you when something is definitively bad, it cannot tell you that something is definitively good.
If they were both switched off at the same time and the freezer was still at -6, the fridge couldn't have been off long enough to cause much spoilage .
Not true. Freezers are usually more full than fridges, and will retain their temperature longer.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:01 AM on November 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm not a food expert, but live in a hurricane zone, and have dealt with power outages.
Everything in the freezer that is still frozen and has not thawed should be fine. If it has thawed, but still feels cold, cook it or chuck it. The rule of thumb for a fridge is that food will keep about 24 hours with the power off if you don't open the door. If everything in the fridge feels "room temperature," which I guess means not cold - I would toss any leftovers or cooked foods, and and toss or cook any uncooked meats immediately. Condiments, produce and such not easily spoiled things should be ok. I'd smell test the dairy, like milk, but most cheese should be fine.
If it would make you feel better to toss it all, go for it.
posted by lawhound at 7:23 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Everything in the freezer that is still frozen and has not thawed should be fine. If it has thawed, but still feels cold, cook it or chuck it. The rule of thumb for a fridge is that food will keep about 24 hours with the power off if you don't open the door. If everything in the fridge feels "room temperature," which I guess means not cold - I would toss any leftovers or cooked foods, and and toss or cook any uncooked meats immediately. Condiments, produce and such not easily spoiled things should be ok. I'd smell test the dairy, like milk, but most cheese should be fine.
If it would make you feel better to toss it all, go for it.
posted by lawhound at 7:23 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
In terms of the freezer, if things stayed frozen, then I would keep everything without a second thought. My inclination would be to re-freeze the meat as well as long as it's stayed as cold as it would be if it were in the fridge. It seems like the guideline not to re-freeze may be more about quality than safety, which I'm basing off of this (and a couple other things I found). Actually, that link has a lot of guidelines about re-freezing things other than meat, as well.
This is a version of that chart for refrigerated food.
As far as eggs are concerned, this depends on where you are. In the US, you should get rid of them because our eggs are meant to be refrigerated, but if you live elsewhere that may not be the case. See this metafilter post for more info.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:43 AM on November 9, 2014
This is a version of that chart for refrigerated food.
As far as eggs are concerned, this depends on where you are. In the US, you should get rid of them because our eggs are meant to be refrigerated, but if you live elsewhere that may not be the case. See this metafilter post for more info.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:43 AM on November 9, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'd especially look carefully at what's in the fridge. Some stuff might have been oldish anyway, and a room temp episode might have tipped something over the edge. Yoghurt often stays okay, sausages and fresh meat perhaps not...that kind of thinking...
And try to find out why someone turned it off. I'm seeing you're in the UK, so I assume that someone just flicked the socket switch, likely by mistake--but maybe the fridge started acting funny and someone switched it off it for safety reasons. Keep an eye on it.
posted by Namlit at 3:42 AM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]