We provide this free safety resource to visitors of the Community Room of SeniorSSuperStoreS in an effort to keep baby boomers, seniors and the elderly informed of matters that can affect their lifestyle.

This information for seniors is part of our series of safety resources dealing with hurricane survival and hurricane safety. This resource deals with food safety. Be sure to see other resources in this series in our Community Room.

The "big one" has come and gone, and you're still in one piece and your home is still standing. Now, the recovery has begun, but what about that freezer and refrigerator full of food? How safe is that food, or should it be tossed?

Here, courtesy of the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service and the American Dietetic Association, is a guide for what to do with specific foods that are kept unrefrigerated for long periods of time.

Use a refrigerator thermometer to make sure that the temperature is still below 40 degrees when you open the door for the first time after the power has been off for an extended period of time. Ideally, you should have one of those thermometers that record the lowest and highest temperatures since they were last manually reset.

Don't trust the look or smell of food to determine if it's OK to keep or eat.

Vegetables, rice and pasta last longer before spoiling than meats and protein rich dishes.

Meats high in preservatives last a little longer. For example, cured meats such as ham or pastrami last longer than turkey or chicken.

Most foods are safe when still cold but kept at 40 degrees or above less than two hours.

Discard when kept above 40 degrees more than two hours: milk, cream, yogurt, eggs (hard-cooked in shells), egg dishes, custards and puddings, cottage cheese, baked potatoes, beef, poultry, seafood, gravy, stuffing, lunch meats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, pizza, cream-filled pastries, pies with custard, cheese or chiffon, cooked pasta, pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinegar base.

Safe when held above 40 degrees more than two hours: butter, margarine, hard cheeses, processed cheeses, fruit juices, fresh / dried / or candied fruits, coconut, raisins, dates, fresh mushrooms, fruit pies, peanut butter.

Discard if kept above 40 degrees for more than six hours: cooked vegetables.

Discard if kept above 50 degrees for more than eight hours: mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish.

Of course, these are general guidelines. If you don't have a thermometer that tells you how warm the contents got in your fridge or freezer, or if you can't tell how long your power was off to these appliances, it's always better to err on the side of safety and toss the food. After a severe storm, you'll have enough worries without worrying about getting sick due to spoiled food!