Dear Miss Liza,

We had a bad storm last week and lost electricity for the whole day… about 7 hours. I had some leftover chili and a homemade fruit salad in the refrigerator. Both looked and smelled okay when the power returned… do you think it’s safe to eat after 7 hours?

Jeremy

Dear Jeremy,

I don’t usually give guarantees… I mean… I guaranteed Carolina would beat Villanova in the NCAA Basketball Tournament… Wrong! Then I guaranteed that I would lose 10 lbs… Wrong again! So I’m 0-2… but Miss Liza will guarantee that you will be visited by the “Diarrhea Monster” if you eat either the fruit salad or chili! Potentially Hazardous Foods (PHFs) are foods that require time and temperature control in order to prevent bacteria growth. Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than 4 hours and the refrigerator door was kept shut. So… throw away any perishable food that has been at temperatures above 40°F for 2 hours or more! If not, I’ll be 1-3 in a couple of days… Ha ha! Bye!

Miss Liza