Power out? Some food in refrigerator should be thrown away

In the wake of a winter storm that coated North Carolina in snow, sleet and ice, hundreds of thousands of people were stuck without power.

About 228,000 people had their power restored already, Gov. Pat McCrory said in a news conference on Saturday morning, but that still left more than 100,000 other people in the dark. While more than 6,000 people with Duke Energy crews across the state are working to turn the lights back on, food could be spoiling in powerless refrigerators.

Most food in the refrigerator should be safe as long as the power is out no more than four hours, according to the federal food safety website FoodSafety.gov.

The site recommends keeping the refrigerator door closed as much as possible to hold in the cold and to throw out any perishable food, such as meat, eggs and leftovers, that have been above 40 degrees for more than 2 hours.

Here are some of the foods that are safe and some that should be thrown out if they're held above 40 degrees for more than two hours:

– Raw or leftover meat, poultry, seafood, soy meat substitutes

– Thawing meat or poultry

– Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage

– Soft cheeses, such as bleu cheese, brie, cottage, cream, mozzarella, muenster

– Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, soy milk

– Hard cheeses, such as cheddar, Colby, Swiss, parmesan, provolone, romano

– Peanut butter

– Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, ketchup, olives, pickles

– Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, tortillas

– Waffles, pancakes, bagels

– Raw vegetables

For the full list, visit www.foodsafety.gov.