Lisa R. Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Due to a storm, our electricity was out for just under 24 hours. We have two refrigerators that were, thankfully, not as full as usual. It is rare that we lose electricity, and when we do, it comes back on rather quickly. Had I known it would be out for so long, I would've gone to the store and bought a bag or two of ice and packed some of the food in coolers. I kept thinking, "It will come on any minute now..." At the end of the day, one of the kids asked for ice cream. At this point, I figured we'd lost most of of the food anyway, so I said she could have some. The ice cream was liquid. I popped some restaurant leftovers in our spare refrigerator at the end of the day, and it didn't feel cool at all. (The house indoor temperature was mid 80s during the day.) So...I went ahead and tossed the hamburger I'd planned for July 4 burgers. Maybe some people would've kept it..I just could not have eaten it. (Again, wish we'd grilled it knowing it would be so long.) Would you keep: couple packages of Hebrew National hot dogs lots of shredded cheese condiments-mustards, relish, salsa, barbecue sauces salad dressings salad kit from the store-contains a poppyseed dressing and salad toppings frozen spinach/artichoke dip from Trader Joe's Lots of butter and eggs that will be fine as will frozen fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Yes to all! The only question might be the hot dogs but if they have nitrates they will be fine too. Would probably eat them regardless of nitrates, especially if they are still cool to touch and you plan to cook them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 No, sadly I would toss it all. We had a refrigerator die on us and the repair man said to everything. Pickles, ketchup, even the mustard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 (edited) I would keep everything but the hot dogs. (But they likely have a ton of preservatives, so would probably be fine). Condiments and cheese don't spoil this quickly Edited July 5, 2016 by regentrude 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Dump. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm076881.htm "Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or leftovers) that has been at temperatures above 40° F for 2 hours or more (or 1 hour if temperatures are above 90º F). Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I would keep condiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 24 hours without electricity? In the summer? Hahaha, no. Sorry, you're going to have to buy new food. Think of it this way - it's a lot cheaper than a trip to urgent care. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'd get rid of everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'd also get rid of it all. Better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 We had a similar situation a few years ago. We kept everything you mentioned with the exception of the hot dogs and the spinach dip. I,would probably toss the dip, but the hotdogs should be ok, unless they were warm to the touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 My mom never even puts her condiments in the fridge at all! Can't imagine having to toss those! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'd toss. Food poisoning isn't fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I would keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 No, sadly I would toss it all. We had a refrigerator die on us and the repair man said to everything. Pickles, ketchup, even the mustard. Ketchup and mustard are frequently left on the table in restaurants. I like it better cold but I don't think it would make you sick. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Condiments and cheese will both be fine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Would you keep: couple packages of Hebrew National hot dogs - no lots of shredded cheese - yes condiments-mustards, relish, salsa, barbecue sauces - absolutely salad dressings - yes salad kit from the store-contains a poppyseed dressing and salad toppings - I'd go by the looks of it, but likely yes. frozen spinach/artichoke dip from Trader Joe's - hmmm...I'd heat it up and see how it is. I wouldn't refreeze it. Lots of butter and eggs that will be fine as will frozen fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm absurdly paranoid about food spoiling but I don't understand why people are saying dump most of this stuff. The hot dogs would be gone and possibly some of the dips and dressings - I'd ditch anything mayo for sure but I'd keep the oil and vinegar based ones. But cheese and butter are perfectly safe to be warmish. And ketchup? If you need to have it refrigerated then don't ever eat it in a restaurant. Eggs are safe at room temp - they just don't last so long. I'd probably try to bake them into something in the next day or two. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'd probably toss the hot dogs and keep everything else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Usually I would keep most of those things, but the fact that your ice cream was actual liquid at that point makes me think it was a lot warmer in there than when I lose power for a day. At that point, I'd probably get rid of everything but the usual condiments. Our power company isn't terrific, but their website is pretty good at keeping customers informed on status so we aren't left clueless. In the summertime, we keep a few bottles filled with ice so we can transfer stuff to a cooler without fighting for bags at the corner store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Wow, we have had the electricity off longer than that and didn't have the complete thaw you have had. I would toss in your case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Wow, we have had the electricity off longer than that and didn't have the complete thaw you have had. I would toss in your case. Probably depends on the temp in the house. If that happened now here, stuff would be dead within that time frame. It can get to high 80s in my house in summer without a/c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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