Food safety help please

goro25

Knows what a fatty is.
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I had a rough day today, so I went out to the freezer in my garage to pour a little vodka. But that's when my day really went south.

Last Sat (05/26) I was trimming a tree and accidentally cut my extension cord causing a fuse to blow. I had no idea that fuse was also connected to the freezer in my garage where I keep my vodka (but more importantly, my meat). That outlet also has its own reset that needs to be pushed and wasn't meaning it hasn't had power since Saturday. So. Trying to figure out what I can and can't keep. I had a bag full of ice that was half way melted leaving about an inch of ice cold water along the bottom of the freezer.

4 tri tips - in a basket near the top of the freezer - all had been sealed with a foodsaver. These were completely thawed and not very cold.

Everything else was nearer to the bottom of the freezer which stayed cooler. I would guess as cool as a refrigerator.

1 tri tip at the bottom, sealed with a foodsaver, cold, but thawed.

1 package with 2 racks of baby backs, not vacuum packed. Not frozen and not that cold.

1 bag of chicken breasts - sealed. thawed but cold.

1 cryovac spare ribs - sitting in the ice water. thawed but cold.

2 turkeys - still half frozen.

1 large pork butt - sitting in the ice water. thawed but cold.

Everything is currently in my refrigerator inside.

So my question...What can I cook tomorrow and what needs to be thrown out?
 
The only thing I might try saving in the fridge is the half thawed turkey. How cold were they? Did you put a thermometer between 2 packages to get an idea of temp?
 
No. Didn't check temp. Wasn't sure how. I could try that.
 
oy vay... that's a lot of meat to throw out... but if in doubt... you should probably toss it all out. Around here, most folks say that the garage freezer should be on a nonGFCI outlet. Don't know if that is standard or not.
 
Anything that is thawed check the temp you may be able to save the beef. The baby backs will probably not be any good. The butts and spares should be ok if there was ice in the water when you found them. Let me add, I would cook and try it, I would not serve this to anyone else.
 
Is 40* the magic number or can I go a little higher?
 
1 trip tip was 42*
spares were about 42*
butt was 40*
turkeys were 35*

So the tri tip and spares????

Tossed the rest.
 
Thanks for the replies. Signing off for now. I'll check back in the morning for more opinions before I throw anything else out.
 
40* would be at the high end for sure, but acceptable. NO HIGHER. If I we're in your shoes I might scrap the whole thing...about 5 yrs. ago I built a shed in my backyard the contractor didn't tell me he had tripped the outlet with one of his power tools...just so happened I bought a butchered pig the week earlier, and the freezer just happen to share the same circuit...before I realized what had happened the whole damn thing had spoiled...I never got to even get a bite of that pig, what a waste...I wasn't going to chance it. Do what you think, but realize your safety might be in question. :puke: :sick:
 
I would salvage the vodka and pitch the rest. Not worth the risk of getting very sick, (been there, got that t-shirt). It is hard to suffer the financial loss, but still less than the being sick and unable to work for a while. Just my thoughts on the matter. YMMV.
 
Chuck the top tri tips. Chuck the racks.
Everything else, cook and enjoy. Ta ain't gonna get sick from any of that, if they're thawed and still cold they are fine.
 
Battery powered thermometer you can set a warning alarm on. I have one for my freezer and two non-alarm fridge therms on order for delivery. Just 'cause its good to know the actual temp. And the Thermopen for fast accurate reads on most anything. I've used for everything from deep frying at 400F to checking the salted ice temps on my White Mountain ice cream machine. Some therms are pricy, others are pretty cheap but then how much was the meat you had to throw out?
 
I have to agree, when in doubt throw it out. It hurts to loose the $$$ but not worth the risk.
 
I am a Certified Food Safety Trainer, anything that went above 41 degrees for more than 4 hours should be discarded. Sorry about the bad luck!
 
I'd say what others have...keep the turkey and of course the vodka...toss everything else out. You don't want to be sitting in a hospital bed wishing you had tossed what you ate. It's too much of a roll of the dice.....
 
I am only going to say if its possible run a separate circuit for the freezer, I would do that. I do like the battery powered temperature alarm idea too.
Good luck and sorry for the meat loss
 
There is no step function. Food that reaches 40.1* does not suddenly go bad. If you're working in a restaurant, you have to employ extreme caution, but for my own food, that is a completely different story. When meat goes bad, you can tell. Use your nose, or if you want to be extra safe, use your wife's nose.
 
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