Freezer Door Left Open Food Safety

If the door is left ajar and the freezer thaws the ice in the bag will melt.

Freezer door left open food safety. Discussion in online pharmacy reviews drugs discussion started by carnold23 nov 3 2015. Ever wonder if you can refreeze food you thawed for dinner or worse the entire contents of your freezer after the door was left open or a power out. Finding someone has left the freezer door open even slightly is a tougher emergency to deal with especially in the summer when food warms faster. If the power in your home goes out keep the freezer door closed so the inside of the freezer stays as cold as possible said stack.

Never taste food to determine its safety. We all hate to waste food but it s better than getting ill from food born bacteria. Often things in the freezer will stay frozen even if the door is left open a crack. Anything wet soft leaking and thawed should be removed.

Here is my low tech hint. If the door was just left open a crack it s time to assess the contents. If the freezer has failed and a repairman is on the way or it appears the power will be on soon don t open the freezer door. If the freezer door was left ajar and the freezer continued to keep the food cold the food should stay safe.

If the refrigerator door was slightly open for a few hours or overnight the unit was operating and the temperature stayed at 40 f 4 4 c all the food would be safe to use. You will have to evaluate each item separately. 18 1 carnold23 nov 3 2015. If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer check each package of food to determine the safety.

I ve found that stuff at the front of the freezer and the top of the freezer are the first to be thawed. Handling the freezer emergency have 1 to 2 coolers on hand or borrow from your neighbors friends or family for a day or 2. We had just gone grocery shopping on sunday. If you can t tell what the temperature is in the refrigerator and the food feels warm discard perishable items as you would in a power outage.

Remember you can t rely on appearance or odor. A freezer full of food will usually keep about 2 days if the door is kept shut. Life happens and sometimes our plans for dinner get adjusted. Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 f 4 4 c or below.

If your freezer food thaws out and then secretly refreezes you can t easily tell if that s happened. Food safety with freezer door left open. A half full freezer will last.