Freezer door 1 inch opened.. 1000$ food LOST!

[Doctorbass]

Well.. today was a bad day for me guys!

I just arrived to home this evening and discovered that the floor was very cold.. so i examinated it and found that the door of our vertical freezer was opened by 1"....

Guess what... 90% food unfreezed and alot of water on the floor :x

I took immediatly my IR thermometer to see what temp i cold get on the food and that averaged between 12 celsius to 6 celsius!!!

Not certain about what is DANGEROUS or not by keeping some food and puting the rest in the trash, i found on the internet many advices about that... and the danger of toxin and bacteria multiplication... not really encuraging!!

Sumarry of that: I can only keep 10% total... and lost for around 1000$ food, turkey, prepared meal, cooked and sealed meal, 2 gallon of cooked spagetti sauce etc....

That's really frustrating!!

Tomorrow i'll build an alarm with temp sensor that will buzz if temp goes above a dangerous limit.. and will install a lock on the door to ensure it is always perfectly closed.




guys.. we always think it could happen to everyone else... but that time it was me... so

Please check for your freezer to ensure it can not happen to you.. I wish it will never happen to anyone of you guys

Doc

 

[liveforphysics]

Just let it re-freeze. It will be fine.

 

[Takemehome]

Just let it re-freeze. It will be fine.

That's what I would do.
Everything is well wrapped ?
It's been at "these" temperatures for only a few hours.
You will cook it.

 

[dogman dan]

Depends on the person, If I ate it, I'd likely puke my guts out. My wife could eat all of it, and mabye burp an extra time.

Raw meat should be tossed. Other stuff, like the spagetti sauce might be trusted. anything cooked before freezing might be ok. Definitely not the turkey.

 

[Dee Jay]

Hell ya Doc, have a cook-off, invite everyone, charge "donation" for a great cause "Save Doc's Food Foundation" ... you'll be all kinds of set!

Mmmm turkey...

Just my 2 canadian cents

:lol:

 

[liveforphysics]

It's not as if any food naturally comes frozen. It's something humans do to it afterwards if they plan on keeping it for long periods of time.

Before I use frozen stuff, I generally throw it in the kitchen sink to de-thaw the day before I plan to use it.

If you're exceptionally paranoid, bring the things like spaghetti sauce up to a boil for a couple of minutes before you go to use it. It's not like you were going to be able to use it without letting it de-thaw first anyways. When frozen, it's doesn't scoop out like icecream lol.

 

[deardancer3]

A little different view.

This last Tuesday night I got bad food poisoning. doubled over with stomach cramps. Had to take only Pedialite for 36 hours. We shall skip listing the details unless of course you want to eat all those little defrosted time bombs.
This is Saturday moning. Friday afternoon was the first time I could leave the house, and even then my wife had to drive.
I am now surviving on tea, broth and juice.

WE here are masters of the hard science engineering stuff. Those life sciences people that understand virus's and bacteria and toxins, we advise them on electric vehicles. If they tell me to toss the food, I will never question them again.

We are telling people to put safety brake switches on their ebikes, and how to do the absolute best job of crimping and soldering connectors, but are willing to have a go with marginal food in the mouth. Not me. I'm not even going to take any free samples at Whole foods.

If some of the food is thawed, then its time for a big neighborhood party with the real safe stuff.

Sorry for your loss. Call your insurance company.

Now about that freezer alarm system you are about to devise and sell, do you have a target retail price? will it call my cell phone?


d

 

[northernmike]

I used to work in a production commissary (industrial kitchen) - we had a half million dollars of frozen food on hand at any given time.

We had the alarms you're talking about - which makes me think you could buy one from a foodservice supply company.

I agree with most here - you can re-freeze most of it.

The raw meats I would be cautious with, especially poultry.

But cooked, ready-to-eat products should be OK if they weren't thawed for more than 8-10 hrs.

The only real loss will be some loss of flavour.

Hoping for the best for you sir!

 

[Ypedal]

Yuck... had a friend who had a worse incident ( well . in a manner of speaking ) he went to the basement to cut a piece of wood on the miter saw, foolishly unplugged the freezer for a " minute " to use the outlet.. yep... you guessed it... about 2 weeks later he noticed a funk from the main floor of the house and all of a sudden he realized what he had done.......... Me. i would hav thrown the entire freezer out * insert green vomit smiley *

I only freeze fresh food, never put something questionable in there ( like many people i know " oh it's about to expire... better freeze it " .. )

This is a quiz i asked a whole pile of people and was amazed that the answer was about 50/50

Q: You get the mega-munchies, get your ass to the kitchen to make a sandwitch, notice a tiny spot of green mold on the end of the loaf...

1- Throw out the entire loaf ?
2- Throw out the bad slice and make a sandwitch ?

Me .. i throw out the whole loaf . :|

Now. a big piece of cheese with a spek of green, i'll entertain if it's a really big chunk of cheese and a very small spec of green.... but anything else goes in the bin.

 

[liveforphysics]

I eat moldy bread. Pick off the mold, or just buck-up and eat it.

I seem to have a cast-iron stomache though.

 

[TylerDurden]

~ $22

http://www.weatherconnection.com/product.asp?itmky=296409&s=froogle

Acu-Rite 00985 Wireless Digital Refrigerator/Freezer Thermometer monitors the temperature in your refrigerator and freezer, so you can be sure that your food is maintained at the proper temperature. It features an audible and visual alarm when temperatures exceed the user set minimum or maximum temperature.

The 00985 includes two wireless sensors. Each sensor is has a spring action clip and detachable suction cup, making it easy to install in your fridge and freezer. The main unit has a flip-out tabletop stand or magnets, for easy mounting. Wireless transmission means you never have to open the door to check the temperature! Comes with a one year manufacturer warranty.

Lithium batteries (L91BP-2, sold separately below) are recommended for use with the freezer unit, since they function at lower temperatures better than alkaline batteries.

Features:
Audible and visual alarm when temperatures exceed min/max set
Pre-set minimum & maximum selections
Temperature range -22 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit
Spring action clip and detachable suction cups on sensors for easy installation
Main unit includes a fold-out stand and magnets on the back
Main unit uses 2 AAA batteries (not included)
Refrigerator and freezer unit use 2 AA batteries, each (not included)
1 year manufacturer warranty
User Manual

 

[will_newton]

1- Throw out the entire loaf ?
2- Throw out the bad slice and make a sandwitch ?

Me .. i throw out the whole loaf . :|

You know that mold did not just appear out of a wormhole. It's already all over the bread, just not in a dense enough population for you to see it. Pick off teh worst of it and eat up or toast it, it's penicillin!

 

[deardancer3]

I used to be like "liveforphysics" in my 20's, 30's, 40's. I could eat anything and did. I entered eating contests. Never a stomach problem.

Then one year, I got severly dehydrated on a NM summer desert Mtn bike ride. Was with my wife and wanted to seem tough. saved the water for her, no complaining. She says the last thing I said was "Glad I'm not thirsty any more".
I wouldnt go to the hospital, and she had to drive me home in my pickup truck , NO A/C 100 miles.

Since then I have never been the same as far as digestion goes. Can't eat real spicy food --it tastes hotter than before, cant handle marginal food.

Two years ago my otherwise healthy wife had some bug so bad I had to take her to the hospital. Got dehydrated, could not hold any fluids down. Friday 7pm, nothing open but a Hospital emergency room. On the road, not at home, out of state. She needed an IV, anti nasuea drugs, electrolytes. Released after 5 hours. Glad I took her to the hospital. By the time we got done with hospital and insurance company, we had lost 6 months arguing with them and $400 dollars. We were lucky, they tried billing us for over $2k.

I feel bad enough when one of my stupid decisions hurts me. When I cause someone else a problem because I played the odds and lost, I just cant do that any more. I have skated and been let off the hook more than my share. Risking Money is bad enough. Safety and health, nope.

One too many stupid things now I am counting stupid things I can do and the new correct number for me is zero. If you are younger, then your mileage may vary of course. Your magic number may not yet be zero.

 

[jag]

What does not kill you makes you stronger.
Nietsche

Reasonable exposure to microbes improves the immune system. For the first 1.9999 of the 2 million years humans have existed there was no food science to tell us what was bad or not. Luckily evolution equipped us with a pretty good sense to tell. If something smells or tastes funny it is likely not good. Different people have different thresholds. Learning to judge by yourself is better than relying on generic rule of thumbs or expiry dates.

I'm not picky about what I eat. Little bit of mold on bread or cheese is no problem for me. A few days expired food? I'll check if it smells and tastes ok. Never had a problem with stuff I cook and eat at home.

The two times I got food poisoning was in restaurants. It is worth being more cautious when one does not know or see exactly what the meal is prepared from.

 

[vanilla ice]

I get away with eating moldy bread and expired meat too.. just have it well done. I'd probably eat all of that stuff. I guess everybody's stomach is different.

 

[spinningmagnets]

If you are gone from home for a long while, and then come back, your freezer may have been in a power outage, but then came back on and re-froze. Here is a trick from the RV life. Place a penny on top of an ice cube in an ice-cube tray. If it melts and then re-freezes, the penny will be at the bottom.

 

[Doctorbass]

Thanks for all these opinions guys,

Usually i also try to keep everything eventhou the expiration date is over, but this time i really have a doubt about the potential toxicity of that food in my freezer.

I did some calculation as well to try to evaluate the best as i can the food conditions when i discovered that bad thing.

I'm 75% sure that the day before, during the morning ( around 9am), i had to go to that room and i never noticed that the floor was at abnormal temp and never felt that it was colder than usuall. I only discovered that it was cold when i came back from work at around 18 pm, I noticed that cold floor near the freezer immediatly so:

I can say that the entire time period that the freezer began to get warmer was starting from a period between 9am and 18 pm..



Let's evaluate the worst case and determine during how much time the food was under a safe temperature:

Data:
-freezer began to get warmer "just after i gone to work"... 9h01am...
-Usually my freezer is at around -12 celsius if i remember correctly
-that represent a period of 9 hours during the freezer warmed
-When i arrived and discovered that at 18pm, i immediatly meatured the temperature of the food inside
I noted temp from 5 degree to 9 degree celsius.. let say the worst case.. 9 celsius

That mean that the temp increased from -12 to 9 celsius in 9 hours... ( or 2 degree increase per hour)

The Canadian food inspection agency recommand to keep food under 4 celsius in normal refrigerator...otherwise it is danger for health

Starting from 9h am at -12 celsius at 2 degrees increase per hour represent 8 hours to reach +4 celsius...

If that relation is "linear" that would mean that the food could have only be over 4 celsius for 1 hour?? (9 hour total ramp minus 8 hour)

That's encouraging .. .but.... that's ONLY if that relation of temp increase is linear... and if that the freezer door opened after 9am... :?

Now.. does all that food really wort of taking a risk for our health... :|

Doc

 

[Doctorbass]

If you are gone from home for a long while, and then come back, your freezer may have been in a power outage, but then came back on and re-froze. Here is a trick from the RV life. Place a penny on top of an ice cube in an ice-cube tray. If it melts and then re-freezes, the penny will be at the bottom.

Nice trick!.. you only need to remember that penny is somewere in all your icecube when put them on one of your drink if a power outage occur :lol:

Doc

 

[deardancer3]

My wife, with a Masters in Biology, says its ok to cook-really cook, most of the raw stuff, then refreeze it.

The more time between 40F and 140F, and the closer to 80F the faster stuff goes toxic.

If it did not spend much time above 40F, its probably fine to cook and refreeze.

the stuff already cooked, too complicated to do unless on a case by case analysis.

I dont agree with her today, but she has the diploma in this area.

D

 

[gestalt]

I sent a hundred men to the latrine tha night!!! I'll never cook again

did you check any of it with a meat thermometer? Surface temp could be up alot but what about core temp? You gotta figure that most food regs are way overkill. From my experience working in resturants it seems most of it should be in the green for a good portion at the very least. But as many others here it seems I was also blessed with the cast iron gut. Can probably thank eating at granpas regularly as a child.

 

[spinningmagnets]

If you live where there are occasional power outages, you might want to consider getting a chest freezer, just a thought...

 

[etard]

Oh, I would definately still eat all that food. LFP is right, we refrigerate way too much. Honestly has anybody ever gotten sick from food left out too long? Food poisoning can come from a vast number of possibilities, but why do we always seem to blame it on lack of food refrigeration? Bad meat, might have come from sick cows or chickens which cannot be blamed on anything but the meatpacker. We like to think that food poisoning comes mostly from meat, but its probably the tomato sauce that got you because of an unsealed can being used.

I eat off other peoples plates, I eat pizza left out for days, I eat bread and cheese with mold ( ever heard of bleu cheese?), I even eat fruit off the vine without washing it off .
I might have an iron stomach now, but I wasnt born that way. :lol:

 

[njs]

Starting from 9h am at -12 celsius at 2 degrees increase per hour represent 8 hours to reach +4 celsius...

If that relation is "linear" that would mean that the food could have only be over 4 celsius for 1 hour?? (9 hour total ramp minus 8 hour)

That's encouraging .. .but.... that's ONLY if that relation of temp increase is linear... and if that the freezer door opened after 9am... :?

Now.. does all that food really wort of taking a risk for our health... :|

Doc

My understanding of thermodynamics leads me to think that temperature will asymptotically approach room temp.

So... Room Temp(25?) - F(e^-kt) = Temperature in Freezer

Plug in 0 hours and initial temp of -12 to find F. Should be 37.

Plug in t = 9 hours and final temp of +9 to find k. k should be around .0931.

Final equation: 25 - 37(e^(- .0931*t)) = Temperature

Solving this for Temperature = +4 gives a time of 6.08 hours after it started, and 2.92 hours of unsafe temperature.

Do what you will...

 

[Doctorbass]

Starting from 9h am at -12 celsius at 2 degrees increase per hour represent 8 hours to reach +4 celsius...

If that relation is "linear" that would mean that the food could have only be over 4 celsius for 1 hour?? (9 hour total ramp minus 8 hour)

That's encouraging .. .but.... that's ONLY if that relation of temp increase is linear... and if that the freezer door opened after 9am... :?

Now.. does all that food really wort of taking a risk for our health... :|

Doc

My understanding of thermodynamics leads me to think that temperature will asymptotically approach room temp.

So... Room Temp(25?) - F(e^-kt) = Temperature in Freezer

Plug in 0 hours and initial temp of -12 to find F. Should be 37.

Plug in t = 9 hours and final temp of +9 to find k. k should be around .0931.

Final equation: 25 - 37(e^(- .0931*t)) = Temperature

Solving this for Temperature = +4 gives a time of 6.08 hours after it started, and 2.92 hours of unsafe temperature.

Do what you will...

Thanks for the calculations.. I thought that linear approach could be more simple.. but thermodynamic is also something to consider.. but still at least 3h of warm temp is already too much for food with meat...

Doc

 

[liveforphysics]

Starting from 9h am at -12 celsius at 2 degrees increase per hour represent 8 hours to reach +4 celsius...

If that relation is "linear" that would mean that the food could have only be over 4 celsius for 1 hour?? (9 hour total ramp minus 8 hour)

That's encouraging .. .but.... that's ONLY if that relation of temp increase is linear... and if that the freezer door opened after 9am... :?

Now.. does all that food really wort of taking a risk for our health... :|

Doc

My understanding of thermodynamics leads me to think that temperature will asymptotically approach room temp.

So... Room Temp(25?) - F(e^-kt) = Temperature in Freezer

Plug in 0 hours and initial temp of -12 to find F. Should be 37.

Plug in t = 9 hours and final temp of +9 to find k. k should be around .0931.

Final equation: 25 - 37(e^(- .0931*t)) = Temperature

Solving this for Temperature = +4 gives a time of 6.08 hours after it started, and 2.92 hours of unsafe temperature.

Do what you will...

If there was no latent heat of fusion phase change happening...

That single degree to go from 0C to 1C requires about 160times the energy of going from 1C to 2C.