GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - The length and frequency of load shedding may have an impact on how safe the food in your refrigerator is.
Garden Route District Municipality's health section has provided handy tips on keeping food safe during long periods of load shedding.
As long as it is cold, food should be safe.
Food in a refrigerator should be safe if there are no more than four hours of power outages, the refrigerator door is closed, and the temperature of the refrigerator was 4 °C at the start of load shedding.
Food safety issues, including spoiling, are especially likely to occur with perishable goods.
Examples are:
* Fresh meat, poultry and fish
* Milk
* Soft cheeses
* Possibly even leftovers, depending on how long they were in the fridge prior to load shedding.
The recommended temperature for refrigerators is 4°C or below, although in South Africa, consumer refrigerators often operate at higher temperatures.
It is best to discard foods in the above list if the outage is longer than 2 hours AND where the fridge temperature is higher than 4°C. Keeping a thermometer in the fridge is the only way to monitor desired fridge temperatures.
Growth of bacteria
Different bacteria start growing at different minimum temperatures, but for every 1°C increase above that minimum growth temperature, bacteria in food grow (double themselves) faster.
It is therefore essential to keep the door closed to ensure that the temperature stays as low as possible during the power outage.
If the freezer door is kept closed, frozen food will stay frozen for around 48 hours.
Perishable food must be cooked as soon as possible if they begin to thaw for any reason since they CANNOT BE REFROZEN.
Given the price of food, one is hesitant to throw it out, yet one cannot taste or smell unsafe food. It may still smell and taste fine, but when a meal smells off, it typically indicates deterioration and it should not be eaten.
If the load shedding schedule is known, one can prepare for it as follows:
Ensure the temperature in the refrigerator is 4 °C or as near to it as feasible.
Frozen leftovers, milk, fresh meat and poultry, fish, and other goods that you might not need right away can be moved from the refrigerator to the freezer.
If no freezer is available, buy fresh food in smaller quantities, prepare and enjoy soon instead of buying in bulk and storing in the refrigerator for a long time.
Consider purchasing long-lasting items, such as unopened canned foods and sterile or UHT drinks, all of which have a lengthy shelf life outside of the refrigerator. Once they’re opened, they too need to be chilled.
To keep perishable goods as cold as possible for as long as possible, you can also place ice packs around them in the fridge.
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa Karoo news'
