Freezer left unplugged for a few days.

I just realised that the chest freezer we have has been unplugged for a few days. There's still ice inside, but some of the food isn't fully frozen anymore.

Anyone done anything similar? Will we have to chuck out what's in there and buy fresh?

If in doubt, throw it out. Food can rot in less than 2 hours. It really depends on what you had, but do you want to risk a visit to the hospital because you don't want to throw away your Cheez-its or whatever?

If it's meat that's thawed, you're safest off to pitch it. I don't know about other stuff. I don't think hooker corpses go bad that quickly...

Oh, god. I have done this before. Except there was no Ice left inside, and all the meat was melted, which created a pool of blood about an inch thick at the bottom. I threw out everything. I would recommend you throw out all meat, but I am sure some stuff like veggies can be cooked and eaten. I have not had good luck trying to re-freeze anything though, usually once it has been thawed you should cook it or toss it, unfortunately it probably won't be the same if you freeze it again.

Anyone done anything similar? Will we have to chuck out what's in there and buy fresh?

A few years ago there was a massive blackout across the Northeast U.S.A. and we had a similar situation with out chest freeze. We decided that getting sick wasn't worth it and ended up buying new groceries. It wasn't a bad thing to happen, gave us a chance to clean it out and get rid of some deer meat that had been in there for way too long.

Mex wrote:

If in doubt, throw it out.

Way to channel Johnny Cochrane! "If the ice is gone, don't eat that prawn!"

[quote=LockAndLoad]

...gave us a chance to clean it out and get rid of some deer meat that had been in there for way too long.

Did the meat grow fur and look the like the deer before it was skinned?

Argh. I prodded a pork chop and it was solid. But it's a big freezer and that's a lot of money to throw away.

Thankfully the folks are abroad, so they can spaz out over there.

sh*t.

Cowboy up and eat that sh*t, 1d! Hellfire, the days of wooden ships and iron men are long forgotten if these posts are any indication!

SwampYankee wrote:

Cowboy up and eat that sh*t, 1d! Hellfire, the days of wooden ships and iron men are long forgotten if these posts are any indication!

This man is wise in the ways of consumption.

If it's still frozen solid it should be OK, most likely the stuff on the top will need to be chucked though.

Yeah, if it's still solid -- heck, if it's still cold and icy in there -- it's probably not too bad.

Hint: Spices were so valuable to import to Europe in the Middle Ages because they covered the taste of food that was turning. This is also why I have trouble trusting cheap Chinese and curry.

So if you're feeling squeamish, douse it in BBQ sauce first.

well if its not solid anymore, but as WordsmyÞe said cold (especially if still partially frozen) it is still usable, just not refreezable (i.e. finish thawing it and eat it).

I've turned the freezeer back on. Should I now take all the stuff out?

"A Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams has a great plot device based on a dead fridge full of slowly rotting food that the main character, Dirk, refuses to clean. In the end it becomes something truly horrifying. Think Ellen Burstyn's fridge in "Requiem for a Dream."

1Dgaf wrote:

I've turned the freezeer back on. Should I now take all the stuff out?

is all the stuff in it or out of it?
if its in it check it ASAP so you can tell what defrosted and what didn't you'll likely hit a point as you go down where everything is still frozen solid, everything below that line won't have defrosted either. Meats and fruits you have to be especially careful with as they refreeze poorly (too much cellular damage with each freeze) Typically vegetables survive much better.

I'm taking out the soft stuff and leaving the properly frozen stuff in.

And my fingers are very, very cold.

Indignant wrote:

"A Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams has a great plot device based on a dead fridge full of slowly rotting food that the main character, Dirk, refuses to clean. In the end it becomes something truly horrifying. Think Ellen Burstyn's fridge in "Requiem for a Dream."

There was an episode of the Sam & Max cartoon like that, too.

1Dgaf wrote:

I'm taking out the soft stuff and leaving the properly frozen stuff in.

And my fingers are very, very cold.

Cold hands, warm heart? Try that on the girl from your DDT.

I might just do that. My great aunt used to say that, too.

Just eat it. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

P.S. I apologize in advance if it kills you.

If any of the meat turned a shade different in color when the freezer was off then toss it. If things look the same no worries.

Also, the prodding is good. Make sure most things are still solid and frozen. A little bit of squish on the top layer of the meat is fine, but if your finger goes in a little too much then chuck it.

Smelling doesn't do any good either. Frozen meats usually don't smell at all.

1Dgaf wrote:

I just realised that the chest freezer we have has been unplugged for a few days. There's still ice inside, but some of the food isn't fully frozen anymore.

Anyone done anything similar? Will we have to chuck out what's in there and buy fresh?

Not if you establish the temporal chronometric field around it.

... damn you, Star Trek Voyager.

Vrikk wrote:

Smelling doesn't do any good either. Frozen meats usually don't smell at all.

That's just it, bad thawed meat smells horrific, especially in a closed, warm freezer.

1D, be ever so thankful you caught it when you did.

Aries wrote:
Vrikk wrote:

Smelling doesn't do any good either. Frozen meats usually don't smell at all.

That's just it, bad thawed meat smells horrific, especially in a closed, warm freezer.

1D, be ever so thankful you caught it when you did.

True, but refrozen bad meat will still smell.

Indignant wrote:
"A Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams has a great plot device based on a dead fridge full of slowly rotting food that the main character, Dirk, refuses to clean. In the end it becomes something truly horrifying. Think Ellen Burstyn's fridge in "Requiem for a Dream."
There was an episode of the Sam & Max cartoon like that, too

The anime Cowboy Bebop also had a fridge episode.

This was a universal in post-Katrina New Orleans. After 3 days to 3 weeks without electricity in subtropical September, people came home and, without opening the fridge or freezer, duct taped the doors shut and hauled the whole unit to the curb. A friend had to allow the garage to air out before he could go in to dispose of his chest freezer. It had contained 30 pounds of peeled, boiled shrimp. I guarantee that he never lifted the lid on that monstrosity. My mother-in-law couldn't decided which smelled worse in her house, the warm freezer or the decomposing fish tank. I'll never think of a power outtage the same way again.

My mother comes up with these wonderful words of wisdom sometimes like, "if it smells bad then it's not ok to eat."

So, I'd start there and work my way around the freezer, uh, smelling everything I guess. I don't know. I don't know what the hell she was on about.

This same thing happened to me last year. I was in crutches so when I found out that my parents didn't actually plug in the freazer when they moved me I was pretty pissed. I ended up eating everything that was in there. Obviously I'm still alive and I don't remember getting sick. If it tastes funny then throw it out but it's not like it's going to kill you...and if it does well you're dead you won't care.

Vector wrote:

If it tastes funny then throw it out but it's not like it's going to kill you...and if it does well you're dead you won't care.

No, it might not kill you, but trust me...if you get something like salmonella, you'll wish it had. I speak from experience here - my roommate and I had salmonella in college, and were sick for days, to the point of needing IV rehydration, etc. Food poisoning is worse than giving birth. And you don't get a cute, cuddly prize at the end.

Throw it all out. Don't risk your health to save a few bucks. Just my two cents.

Elysia wrote:

Food poisoning is worse than giving birth. And you don't get a cute, cuddly prize at the end.

On the bright side, it doesn't last 18 years.