With many homes still without power and others having gone forhours or days without, the Mississippi State University Extensionservice said the danger of food-borne illness is high.

eggy Walker, MSU Extension nutrition and food safety agent inPanola County said the safest rule of thumb is “if in doubt, throwit out.”

Walker said anything in a freezer that has completely thawed andis at room temperature for up to two hours needs to be thrown out.She said ideally, if you have a grill or a way to cook these items,gather your neighbors and have a party.

“Be extra careful,” she said, when dealing with food from therefrigerator.

Any item that needs to be refrigerated and that has been out formore than two hours should be discarded, said Walker.

“All food from animals, meat, cheese, eggs – should be discardedif you’ve lost power,” Walker said.

Walker said these types of foods are considered hazardous. Shesaid a warm environment causes bacteria in these types of foods togrow rapidly.

If frozen items begin to thaw, they are still good as long asthey contain ice crystals and have not been sitting at roomtemperature, Walker said.

Other items that are typically refrigerated such as pickles,jams, jellies and mustard, can usually survive a couple of days outof the refrigerator, if they are kept in a cool spot, she said.Mayonnaise cannot.

Canned foods are considered processed foods, she said, and aresafe to eat right out of the can without heating. Just make surecans are not punctured, she said, and if the cans have beensubmerged in water, remove the label, wash the can with soapy waterand relabel with the contents. As long as the cans remain in tact,they are still consumable.

Any cardboard boxed items that get wet should be discarded. Shesaid boxed cereals and mixes would fit into this category.

Walker suggested if your city or county has lost power but thewater is still functioning, chlorinators may not be workingproperly. She said bringing your water to a rolling boil for a fullminute before consumption will kill any bacteria that could causesickness.

She said if running water is not available, rainwater andpuddles of water can be boiled and sanitized for hand washing orbathing.

Walker cautioned persons eating at restaurants and eaterieswhere power was lost. She said unless these places had generatorsto power their establishments, items in their freezers or coolershave also cooled – and possibly thawed – which could cause them toharbor bacteria.