Hurricane Florence is roaring towards the East Coast, and about 1.7 million people in North and South Carolina and Virginia are under warnings to evacuate. If you're leaving home or lose power, there's a simple hack to check if the food in your freezer is safe to eat.
Just fill a cup with water and place it in your freezer. Once it's frozen, put a quarter or other coin on top, and place the cup back in the freezer. If you find the coin at the bottom, that means your freezer completely thawed and food is no good.
Perishable food that has been above 40 degrees for two hours or more is not safe to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Another trick to help keep your freezer cold is filling plastic bags with water and placing them inside.
Placing a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper under the bags helps to make sure they do not stick to racks. Then, if the power goes out, the bags can be used to maintain a cold freezer or refrigerator temperature. It also doubles for extra drinking water. Remember, cold water expands so don't overfill the bags.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service said you should check the temperature inside your refrigerator and freezer and discard any perishable food (like meat, seafood, eggs and leftovers) that has been above 40 degrees for two hours or more.
If frozen food still has ice crystals or is below 40 degrees, it may be safely refrozen. You should never eat food that has come in contact with floor water.
But, overall, when in doubt, throw it out.
Contributing: Ashley May, USA TODAY
