Power outage aftermath: Is your food safe?

Hooray! The power is back to West Bloomfield after southeast Michigan’s big 24-hour outage due to the crazy winds!

Related story: 860,000 without power across Michigan as high winds sweep state

Heading to this website to read the latest posts was probably not the first thing on your agenda. So just tuck this important information under the “It’s too late now but good to know for next time” category.

Here’s a handy chart from the USDA about what to do with the food in your fridge and freezer after a power outage. You may be surprised to find out what’s considered safe and what’s not safe. The general rule of thumb is “better safe than sorry“. But I’m glad to have found this chart before throwing absolutely everything out.

• “Keeping food safe during an emergency” — USDA, 4 pages, PDF file