Refrigerator Down: What to toss?

[lboeckx]

We lost power for 24 hours. Ish. Do I toss the yogurt? It smells a little sour, but surely that's normal? Eggs, I'm saving. Chicken gone. Mostly I don't want to lose the yogurt. Any ideas?

[DonShirer]

Our power just came on 3 days after Irene outed it, but we were able to eat most of the food in the fridge. However, it's amazing the things you find in your freezer when you have to clean it out!

[Veggo]

It's equally amazing what you find in your freezer, 7 or 10 days after the compressor fails.

[mamachef]

Oooh bad.

[arktos]

I usually have a big block of ice in my freezer, which comes in handy when the power goes out. I just put everything on the top shelf and wait till the power comes back on.

[Jeff C.]

The CDC has guidelines on its website. In general, though, any dairy (including eggs) should be tossed.

[kizil]

eggs don't really have to be refrigerated, many people all over the world do not.
http://www.chow.com/food-news/54944/d...

[lboeckx]

Thanks, apparently you're right, the eggs haven't killed us, I'm not giving the yogurt a chance.

[andreaborn]

It's true that eggs aren't refrigerated elsewhere, but not the whole story: eggs naturally have a protective coating of some sort, which is typically left on in countries which do not refrigerate eggs, and typically washed off in the US. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to eat them after some amount of non-refrigeration as long as they smell OK (backpackers sometimes carry eggs, for example). But in general, it's probably best to refrigerate US eggs, regardless of the habits of other countries.

[odkaty]

Eggs are fine.