Ice storm hits Manhattan 3 — keeping food safe

On Tuesday night, the entire sky over Manhattan was colored green. And it happened at least five other times.

Those were transformers blowing up.

Westar electric says Manhattain may have no power for a week.

Yikes.

And then, Wednesday night, just when we thought we would have to wash dishes by hand, the power came on.

We’re fortunate, as hundreds of thousands across the Midwest still have no power, including several thousand in Manhattan. With that in mind, Reuters and USA Today picked up on my fridge on the front porch theme (also works well for beer).

CHICAGO — For nearly 610,000 customers in the U.S. Central Plains without power, the contents of their refrigerators and freezers may not be a total loss, a food safety expert said on Wednesday.
Meat, milk, cheese and other food can temporarily and safely be stored outside during freezing weather, said Doug Powell, an associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State University.

Freezing rain and ice brought down tree branches and power lines on Sunday and Monday, initially leaving 1.2 million customers without electricity. Utility companies were estimating it may take up to 10 days to restore power to all customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

To turn a backyard into a refrigerator, place food in a cooler to protect it and monitor with a thermometer. Pack ice or snow around the food to help keep it cold.

Frozen foods will be fine for a couple days below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 Celsius). Refrigerated foods will keep at temperatures below 40F (4C).

While it’s fine for consumers to use their backyards as make-shift refrigerators, it’s not an option for restaurants and other businesses that serve food, Powell said.

For more information:
www.foodsafety.ksu.edu
www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_121007_01/index.asp

The pictures were taken this morning as the sun shone once again.

This entry was posted in Food Safety Policy, Raw Food and tagged , , by Douglas Powell. Bookmark the permalink.

About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time