What to get rid of after a power outage?

[crazypoohbear]

Help!!
We lost power here in the Northeast Friday Morning at 12:40AM. Power did not come back on until Saturday at 4:00PM.
What do I have to toss out from the refrigerator and freezer?
We were without power about 40 hours total.
I know to toss the milk and orange juice and meats, but what about the
eggs
butter
condiments
fresh veggies
ricotta cheese
hard cheese
salad dressings
frozen veggies, can the be refrozen?
frozen cheese raviolis
pie shells/pie crusts
The freezer wasn't opened at all during the outage and the fridge was opened only a few times to keep the cold in as long as possible.
I was not home when the power came back on so I don't know what was thawed in the freezer. I am tossing all the frozen meats but I didn't know about the frozen veggies, ravioli's etc.
DH, is a cheap skate and doesn't want to toss everything, I want to throw it all away to be safe.
What are the guidelines for this?

[tinklover]

typical rule of thumb is if it calls to be frozen and it thaws out it can not be refrozen . I too would be on the safe side and dump it all and restock. your hubby may be a cheapskate but he would be a cheapskate with a guilty conscience if someone got sick form the kept food. but it is your call on what ya do . I am a germaphobe. I don't even thaw meats or anything out on a counter or in the microwave. It gets thawed in the fridge lol. Good luck

[Tick-Tock]

The Red Cross and the CDC both have information about this on their websites. Both say that a full freezer is good for about 48 hours, half-full for 24 hours. Refrigerated foods shouldn't be above 40 degrees for more than 2 hours.

The Red Cross links to a chart that tells you how to handle different foods. Actually, it looks like your frozen meats are among the things most likely to be saved.

[daparish]

Living here in south Louisiana we have lost power from hurricanes the past few years. I do not have a deep freezer. I have always thrown away everything in my fridge and the freezer section of the fridge. I think if your freezer was kept closed it would probably be ok but I would hate to take the chance. I know on some homeowner's policies you can be reimbursed for food loss. We received a check for $300 for refrigerated items along with a check for our expenses while evacuated.

[estein80]

I know that for hurricanes when you have a power outage you can contact your Homeowner's Insurance company. We were reimbursed for up to $250 worth of food. I don't know if it works for everyone or not, but it's worth a try.

[kakn7294]

Homeowners insurance should cover lost food due to a power outage - make an inventory and contact them. You should probably get rid of almost everything if you were out of power for 40 hrs. The fresh veggies are probably still good. If your cold foods were at 40º or higher for longer than an hour, you should throw them away, even condiments and such. Frozen food that has thawed should either be used immediately (while still colder than 40º) or thrown away. We went through this a few months ago - sorry you're going through it now.

[Ed]

A trick that I learned a long time ago is to freeze some water in a plastic container about the size of a shotglass. After it's frozen, put a penny on the top of the ice and put it in the freezer.

If you have a power loss, check it after power is restored. If the penny has sunk to the bottom, it's best to ditch everything. If it's still on top of the ice or just partially (less than half) sunken, your food is very likely safe.

[pixiesmimi]

If the meat is completely thawed out (or mostly) but still cold, I try to cook up as much as I can to use later. I do throw most things in the fridge away except eggs, butter, condiments, especially if they stayed cold. Eggs are actually okay even if you keep them out on the counter, so they should be okay. The butter would be melted if it got hot. I have refrozen pie crusts, vegetables and things like that but never refreeze meat after it thaws. If it is cooked after it thaws, then you should be able to refreeze it, like casseroles, etc.

[crazypoohbear]

Well, I tossed out everything! I waited until DH left for work and grabbed trash bags.
I really can't afford to replace all the groceries but I really really can't afford to be sick with food poisoning!
As for the insurance, my insurance guy said unless you specifically have a policy that covers food replacement then it's not covered.
He also said that if I have a $500.00 deductible it wouldn't be worth it to file a claim unless I lost a significant amount of food, otherwise my premiums could go up and would negate the money I get back from the claim.
He said that claiming groceries is more to "nickle and dime" the company if you have a big claim, ie tree damage, roof damage, etc. I thank God did not have damage to my house so it wouldn't be feasible to file a claim soley for groceries.
I lost a lot trees and branches but thank God none hit the house itself. There is talk of another storm coming the end of the week. I'm hoping nothing happens with the next one.