The following has been converted from a MS Word document file provided by the Whatcom County Health Department.
Whatcom County Health Department
Environmental Health Division, Food Safety Program
509 Girard St
Bellingham WA 98225
Power Outage and Food Safety
The following information is compiled by the Whatcom County Health Department Food Safety Program from the Washington State Department of Health and US Federal Food Safety guidelines.
See: http://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/EmergencyPreparednessandResponse/PowerOutages/FoodSafety and http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html
Click for more informationFor questions, contact health@whatcomcounty.us or call (360) 778-6000.
The biggest food safety concern when it comes to a power outage is the condition of potentially hazardous food such as meats, eggs, dairy products, cooked vegetables, and cut melons. Potentially hazardous foods are usually moist, non-acidic, perishable foods and must be kept at temperatures below 41°F or above 135°F for safety.
Never taste food to determine its safety! You can’t rely on appearance or odor to determine whether food is safe.
Note: Always discard any foods in the refrigerator that will not be thoroughly heated that have come into contact with raw meat juices.
When a Power Outage Occurs
Keep track of the time the outage begins.
Stop using gas or solid fuel cooking and heating equipment if the exhaust hood and make-up air systems stop working. Using this equipment without proper ventilation can lead to a dangerous build-up of toxic fumes that may cause injury or death.
Throw away any foods that are in the process of being cooked but have not yet reached their final cooking temperature. Check the internal temperature of all hot and cold potentially hazardous food.
Note: A power outage of 2 hours or less is not considered hazardous to food that was being held under safe conditions when the outage began.
After power is restored:
Check the internal temperature of all hot and cold potentially hazardous food.
Decide to either keep or throw away potentially hazardous food, as shown in the tables below.
If cold foods were grouped together to keep them cold, space them out again so they will cool more quickly.
What to do with Potentially Hazardous Foods:
| Cold Foods | |||
| Hours Power is Out | Cold Food Temperature | ||
| 45ºF or below | 46ºF to 50ºF | 51ºF or above | |
| 0-2 | OK | OK | OK |
| 2-4 | OK | OK | X |
| More than 4 | OK | X | X |
OK = Food may be sold, as long as it was 41ºF or less when the power went out. Immediately cool food to 41ºF or less.
X = Food may be unsafe and may not be sold.
| Hot Foods | ||
| Hours Power is Out | Hot Food Temperature | |
| 130ºF or above | 129ºF or below | |
| 0-2 | OK | OK |
| 2-4 | OK | X |
| More than 4 | X | X |
OK = Food may be sold, as long as it was 135º or more when the power whent out. Immediately reheat to at least 165ºF. After reheating, hold at 135ºF or more, or immediately cool to 41ºF or less.
X = Food may be unsafe and may not be sold.
Actions that can keep food safe for several hours:
Cold Potentially Hazardous Foods
- Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
- If practical, group packages of cold food together. Keep raw meats away from other kinds of food.
- Cover any open display refrigerators and freezers, especially vertical displays.
- Surround food with ice.
Caution: If you use dry ice to cool food, it may cause an unsafe build-up of carbon dioxide in enclosed spaces.
Hot Potentially Hazardous Foods
- Do not put hot food in refrigerators or freezers.
- Use canned chafing dish fuel under food on electric steam tables to help keep potentially hazardous food over 135°F.
Food Service Establishment workers need to stop preparing food if:
- There is no warm water for handwashing.
- There is not enough water pressure.
- Food cannot be kept at safe temperatures.
- You cannot wash, rinse, and sanitize utensils properly.
- There is not enough light for employees to work safely.
Reopening a Food Service Establishment:
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Click for more informationIf you voluntarily closed your facility, the following conditions should be verified before you resume food preparation and/or sale of potentially hazardous food:
- All unsafe potentially hazardous food (according to the charts above) has been discarded. If there are any questions about the safety of specific foods, contact your local health department.
- Hot and cold potable running water is available for handwashing and dishwashing.
- All equipment and facilities are operating properly, including: lighting, refrigeration, hot holding, ventilation, and toilet facilities.
- Refrigerators are 41°F or less.
- Electricity and gas services have been restored.
- All circuit breakers have been properly reset as needed.
Note: If your facility was closed by the local health department, it must remain closed until that agency gives you official approval to reopen.
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Click for more informationDisposal of Food:
When in doubt, throw it out!
If food must be thrown away, document the type and amount of food and the reason for disposal, so that you can provide the information to regulators and your insurance company.
Small amounts of food to be thrown away can be treated with a cleaning product (such as bleach) so that they will not be eaten, and placed in the outside garbage bin.
To throw away large amounts of food, contact your garbage disposal company or your local landfill operator for disposal instructions.
If you have questions about the safety of specific foods, contact your local health department.