CFS urges attention to food safety during power outage

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's Centre for Food Safety (CFS) said today (June 22) that concerning the power outage that occurred in some districts last night, the CFS urges affected members of the public to be cautious when it comes to food safety.

A spokesman for the CFS said, "Under the hot weather and the power cut, refrigerators cannot store food properly. Dangerous temperatures (i.e. 4 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees C) will facilitate the growth of harmful microorganisms that can cause food-borne diseases, causing food to deteriorate quickly. Members of the public should not consume food to determine if it is safe or not, since the flavour or smell of the food does not always go bad. If in doubt, the public should simply throw the food away."

The spokesman also reminded the public to observe the following advice while handling chilled and frozen foods.

During a power outage:

• Avoid opening refrigerator compartments and freezers to prolong the time of maintaining a proper storage temperature, so as to avoid the rapid growth of bacteria in the Temperature Danger Zone of 4 degrees C to 60 degrees C;
• In general, if the doors of the refrigerator compartments and freezers are kept closed, the refrigerator compartments can store food safely for two to four hours, a full freezer for 48 hours, and a half-full freezer for 24 hours; and
• Knowing when the power cut begins can help calculate the time of the power outage, so as to determine which foods are safe for consumption.

After power is restored:

• Check the temperature of perishable food and determine how long the food may be kept out of safe temperatures;
• Any perishable food, such as meat, seafood, eggs, milk, dairy products, cut fruit and cooked food, should be refrigerated or used immediately if kept at 4 degrees C to 60 degrees C for less than two hours. If more than two hours but less than four hours, it should be used immediately, if more than four hours, it should be discarded; and
• Foods that can be stored at an ambient temperature are less perishable, including highly acidic foods (such as mustard, ketchup, jam, pickles), certain processed foods (such as peanut butter, butter, bread), and most dried foods. If stored in a fridge or a freezer, there is no need to discard them.

The CFS has published a guideline on "How to Keep Food in the Fridge Safe in Case of a Power Cut" and uploaded it to the CFS website (www.cfs.gov.hk). The public and the trade are welcome to read.

Ends/Wednesday, June 22, 2022