Hurricane and Storm Tips: Save Your Food With Dry Ice

No Electricity? No Freezer?

What do you do when a storm shuts off your electricity?  Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. has gathered the following useful information to help you cope with hurricane and storm preparedness and aftermath.

First of all, find the Continental Carbonic dry ice location nearest you, print out the information and its map and tape it to your refrigerator or freezer.

Mechanical Failure of Freezer or Refrigerator
If your freezer or fridge has a mechanical failure, can you quickly move the food to a neighbor's or friend's refrigerator or freezer?

Power Failure
If the power has failed in your neighborhood, then you must watch the time. Food in a refrigerator will keep about four to six hours if you do not open the door. Food in a freezer will keep about 48 hours if the freezer is full, 24 hours if half full. Food in the freezer section of a refrigerator will stay frozen for about a day if the refrigerator door isn't opened and the freezer section is full.


In the Path of a Storm?
If you are anywhere near a storm path, turn the cold controls of your fridge and freezer to a lower setting NOW to add "cool" to the food. Be careful not to freeze the contents of your refrigerator.

• Load Raw Food in the Lower Section of Your Freezer: If you load raw food at the bottom of your freezer and ready-to-eat food at the top, you can help store the cold better.
• Add Insulation to the Freezer: You can also add insulation to the freezer by putting blankets or newspapers around it, but be sure to remove them immediately when the power comes back, due to the risk of overheating (fire) when the freezer starts to run again.
• Keep the Freezer Full: Use gel-packs or even plastic bottles of frozen water to help store cold.
• Know the Temperature: Keep an accurate thermometer in your freezer and refrigerator, right next to the door.
• Clean it Afterwards: Clean the interior of your fridge and freezer after power has been restored.
  
  Note: If the freezer food still has ice crystals, it can be re-frozen.
  In the refrigerator, if the temperature never gets above 40 degrees F in the refrigerator, your food may be safe to eat.
  For details, see the USDA recommendations "When in doubt, throw it out."

Finally, clean the interior of your fridge and freezer after power has been restored. Keep the phone number of your nearest Continental Carbonic Products dry ice location handy at your phone.

Call Continental Carbonic toll-free at 800-DRY-ICE2 [800-379-4232] to buy dry ice . Visit our News Archive to find out about more ways to use dry ice

Dry ice, which is solid carbon dioxide, is very cold and will keep frozen food frozen if you can get it into the freezer before the food begins to thaw. Place a piece of cardboard on top of the food and put the dry ice on the cardboard.

CAUTION: Dry ice is very cold and will freeze your skin severely if you touch it.
WEAR HEAVY GLOVES when handling dry ice. Please review our dry ice safety tips . Print out the safety tips now and tape them to your freezer along with the Continental Carbonic Products location map so you have them when the power fails.

As the use of these suggestions is beyond the control of Continental Carbonic Products, Inc., no liability, expressed or implied, is assumed for any use of this information.