Food handling after power outage

Mark RepliesCategory: General questionFood handling after power outage
Barbara Hunter-Sweeny asked 5 days ago

I live in Pittsburgh where we’ve had a power outage since this past Tuesday evening and it is now Friday late morning so I need to know what foods absolutely need to be thrown out that are in my fridge.

1 Answers
Mark Staff answered 5 days ago

Hello, Barbara
Sorry to learn about your troubles.
Unfortunately, you will need to discard any refrigerated food that has been above 41F for more than a 72-hour period. This advice pertains specifically to Potentially Hazardous Food (PHF) food, which by definition can support the growth of human pathogenic bacteria. These are foods that have a pH greater than 4.5 and a water activity (i.e, measure of water in the food) greater than 0.85.
If you want me to look at a list of the foods for more specific advice, feel free to send them.
regards
Mark

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