[titch]

a local shop had a power cut for 19 hours - so they had to throw all their chilled and frozen food in the rubbish bins outside - can you bleive the shocking waste of it - i appreciate the healkth and safety aspect of it etc but its just criminal

would you raid the skip?

[mumofstig]

depends how long the stuffs been defrosted cos a freezer unopened takes a long while to warm. The stuff stays frozen inside for ages and then is like a fridge before it gets warm...so yeah ages. But with raw meat and uncooked pies as long as you cook it before it's warm you can then refreeze it. Can't do that with veg tho.
Good few years ago my freezer failed and i saved quite a lot of it by doing just that

[titch]

i should have also added the reason for the power cut - the village was all but cut off by snow, it was so cold, the freezers have covers on, the stuff was still frozen when they put it in the bins, and stayed frozen.

[BestBreast]

Mmm well technically it would be theft but what the sleeping villagers don't know will only save it going to landfill.

I bet if you ask they would say no.

[RichardA]

Obviously I dont know all the circumstanecs but GOOD health and safety seeks to manage any adverse situation to reduce costs whilst protecting life. It is all too easy for weak management just to throw their arms in the air and take an easy option and then blame health and safety -- anyway it is not their money.
R

[digalotty]

im not shy ... too right!!!

[Ferris]

From a food hygiene point of view the problems would only begin if/when the food reached around +5c - as long as the core food stayed below that then it would be ok to at least refrigerate and use within 48 hours. I guess the problem is that even though you could SUPPOSE that the temperature had stayed below that, it would be impossible to prove without probing every single item individually.

Unfortunately due to the world we live in, as an individual or a business would you rather a) throw away the food in 20 minutes, claim the value on the insurance and start again or b) try and save it, spending hours possibly probing each item, then to panic that if someone contracted food poisoning from eating something that had defrosted that you cuold be closed down and fined 6 figure sums or put in jail?

Im all for reducing waste, but out litigious society means everyone has to cover their backside against any possible event that leaves them open to being sued.

[Trillium]

The main problem is that removing stuff from shop bins is usually considered theft and trespass. And some have security cameras to enforce this 'do not take' action. It's considered theft because the claim to insurance will have gone in and the waste now technically belongs to the insurance company who will be paying for it.
In practicality, it really is a waste if items are still useable, but when has practicality stopped the laws of life?