So your groceries spoiled during the power outage – now what?

Christine Cleary/Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Claims Division

You’ve just fought your way through the payday madness at the commissary and all the groceries have been put away. You’ve got the kids settled with a bowl of popcorn and their favorite movie, and you’re just opening the book you’ve been trying to finish for the last week, when all of a sudden the power goes out.

The kids start screaming and you’re scrambling to find the flashlight, hoping you’ve put in new batteries.

Similar situations can happen at a moment’s notice, but there are measures that can to mitigate food loss, if you follow the guidelines on filing a claim set forth in Department of the Army Pamphlet 27-162, Legal Services Claims Procedures.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, knowing how to determine whether food is safe and how to keep it safe will help minimize the loss of food and reduce the risk of food borne illness.

If the power goes out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours, 24 hours if half full, if the door remains closed.

You can find more guidance along with a chart of when to save and when to throw refrigerated and frozen foods out at the following website: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp.

DA Pam 27-162 provides that families residing on-base might have a compensable claim for food that spoils because of a power outage provided the outage was of an “unusual duration.” What constitutes “unusual duration” is determined by how long it normally takes food to spoil under local climatic conditions and not the result of the claimant’s negligence.

The claimant must establish the amount of food that spoiled due to the power outage by providing receipts or photographs of the food with evidence that shows cost.

Remember that you have an obligation to mitigate the amount of your loss from a power outage by keeping your refrigerator and freezer closed as much as possible during the duration of the outage. If you have questions, call the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Claims Office at 967-0704.