Chicken in the fridge and the power went out. Is it still good?!
How long is chicken good in the fridge once the power goes off? Is this still safe to use?
Answers:
It would be be safest if you had checked the temperature of the meat before freezing. I agree that if it felt cold to touch at the time it is fine-fridges do maintain adequate temp for longer than that since you didn't keep opening it-smart of you.
Please don't rely on smell-meat can have a good load of pathologic microbes without any physical changes.
First, it kind of depends how full your fridge was. The more food or solid items in there the longer it will stay cold. I would also suggest doing what the other person said about smelling it. As long as it was below 70 degrees for more than 3 hours, I think actually 4 hours but 3 to be safe or 70-120 for more than 2 hours you should be fine. It was smart to put it in the freezer to cool it back down. I will give you this information and let you be the judge of what to do based on the information given.
Yeah, it's OK. You did the right thing by not opening the refrigerator repeatedly to "see if everything is OK." Refrigerators are highly insulated, and an 8 hour outage should not affect anything as long as you don't open it much. Your food probably never rose significantly in temperature, and should be perfectly fine.
You did buy fresh chicken breasts and it usually goes bad faster then regular frozen chicken, because frozen chicken is chemically enhanced to withstand different tempuratures. My guess is its fine, but wash with cold water and smell, if it has an eggy or sulfuric scent, toss it. (:
Even after the power is off, a refrigerator should stay cold for quite a few hours. My vote? The chicken's probably fine. As long as you cook it through all the way, there shouldn't be a problem.
I own a refrigerator?
If the chicken was cold to the touch before you put it in the freezer, it should be okay. Let it thaw in the fridge before using. Rinse with cold water and if it smells bad throw it away.
take it out of the freezer and defrost it. smell it. if it has an "off" odor toss it out. power out just 8 hours it should be ok, but depends on the fridge.
It is still well within the safe period when it can be used in the next 3 months, but it will probably last far longer.
The refrigerator stays cool for longer period of time .I think it is safe