Frozen food after power outage

[Stephers]

Hey y'all. We just got power back yesterday after losing it for about 72 hours due to the hurricane. I have a bunch of frozen foods (PE mysis, LRS, etc.) in the freezer. We didn't open the freezer once, and when the power came back up, I checked the temperature and it was below 40F and all the chicken and beef in there was still frozen and good. The fish food was all completely thawed, though. I left it in there and it's now refrozen. Is it okay to use? I would hate to throw it out because it's pricey... but I want to be safe. Thanks.

 

[Formulator]

Hey y'all. We just got power back yesterday after losing it for about 72 hours due to the hurricane. I have a bunch of frozen foods (PE mysis, LRS, etc.) in the freezer. We didn't open the freezer once, and when the power came back up, I checked the temperature and it was below 40F and all the chicken and beef in there was still frozen and good. The fish food was all completely thawed, though. I left it in there and it's now refrozen. Is it okay to use? I would hate to throw it out because it's pricey... but I want to be safe. Thanks.

I’m sure it will be fine. I’ve accidentally left mine out on the counter multiple times to thaw and refrozen without any issues.

 

[FurrierTransform]

So the real question is what temperature did the fish food get to, and for how long was it at an elevated temperature? Generally the bad zone (for human consumption) is somewhere in the 40 F to 140 F range, but at 40 F I would think it would be quite a while before bacteria grew. Separately, it is safe to refreeze food if it were thawed at refrigerator temperatures (like 38 F). So to be safe, I would not eat it yourself. But again, this business of food safety is geared for humans so at least I don't really know what's safe for fish. My impression is that tropical fish will happily eat scraps of other sealife that has been at elevated temperatures (78 F) for quite awhile. I would think it's safe for your fish. Hope this helps.

 

[Bruttall]

Might just be me, but I think those frozen fish foods have a very definite Bad Small, If they smell normal I'd guess it is ok.

 

[Formulator]

this business of food safety is geared for humans

I agree and think this is the key. Fish live and breathe in the excrement of other animals. I’ve got to imagine their immune system is pretty solid…

 

[fishywishy]

As long as it stayed cool, it should be fine. I get frequent power outages where I live, and this has happened to me multiple times, but the food has always been fine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey y'all. We just got power back yesterday after losing it for about 72 hours due to the hurricane. I have a bunch of frozen foods (PE mysis, LRS, etc.) in the freezer. We didn't open the freezer once, and when the power came back up, I checked the temperature and it was below 40F and all the chicken and beef in there was still frozen and good. The fish food was all completely thawed, though. I left it in there and it's now refrozen. Is it okay to use? I would hate to throw it out because it's pricey... but I want to be safe. Thanks.

As long as it remained cold- Just fine. At my LFS, I got delayed shipments which were starting to soften but still cold without issue

 

[jmanrow]

At 40F for a 3 days, I'm sure the food is fine now that is refrozen.