Keeping Food Safe in Summer Heat and Loadshedding

Summer in Pakistan is hard on food. Kitchens reach 40°C, the power goes off for hours, and a pot of salan left on the stove after lunch can spoil before dinner. Food poisoning in summer is common, and most of it is preventable with a few habits. This guide is based on widely used food safety advice, adapted for Pakistani kitchens.

The basic rule: the danger zone

Bacteria grow fastest between about 5°C and 60°C. Food is safest when it’s either hot (steaming) or cold (in a working fridge). The general guidance:

• Don’t leave cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• When the room is hotter than about 32°C, which is most Pakistani summer days, reduce that to 1 hour.

That means the pot of daal left on the stove from lunch until dinner isn’t safe in June, even if it smells fine. Smell is not a reliable test.

Cool food quickly

Large pots of food cool slowly, and the middle can stay warm for hours.

• Divide big pots into smaller, shallow containers before refrigerating.
• Don’t wait for food to cool completely on the counter. Let the steam escape for 20–30 minutes, then refrigerate.
• Stand a pot in a sink of cold water with ice to cool it faster.
• Leave space around containers in the fridge so cold air can circulate.

Be especially careful with rice

Cooked rice can carry spores of a bacterium (Bacillus cereus) that survive cooking. If rice sits warm for hours, they grow and make toxins that reheating doesn’t destroy. Cool leftover biryani, pulao and plain rice quickly, refrigerate within an hour in summer, and use within a day. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Foods that spoil fastest

• Dairy: raita, lassi, kheer, firni, custard and cream desserts.
• Mayonnaise-based sandwiches, salads and sauces.
• Cut fruit and fruit chaat.
• Cooked rice and daal.
• Chutneys made with yogurt or fresh herbs.
• Meat, chicken, fish and eggs, raw or cooked.

Make these close to serving time, keep them in the fridge until needed, and don’t leave them out at a dawat for hours. Put raita and desserts on ice if the meal runs long.

Loadshedding and your fridge

A closed fridge stays cold for a surprising length of time. General guidance:

• A fridge keeps food cold for about 4 hours if the door stays closed.
• A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours; a half-full one for about 24 hours, again only if it stays closed.

To make that time go further:

• Keep the door shut during power cuts. Every opening lets cold air out.
• Keep frozen water bottles in the freezer and fridge. They act as ice packs and keep the temperature steady.
• Keep the freezer full, using water bottles to fill gaps.
• Plan meals so you’re not storing leftovers during long outage days.
• If food in the fridge has been above about 5°C for more than 4 hours, perishable items like meat, dairy and cooked rice are safest thrown away.

A cheap fridge thermometer is worth buying. It tells you exactly how warm the fridge got.

Reheating safely

• Reheat food until it’s steaming hot all the way through, not just warm.
• Stir salan and daal while reheating so there are no cold spots.
• Reheat only once. Take out only the portion you need.
• Microwaved food heats unevenly; stir halfway and let it stand for a minute.

Water and ice

• Use boiled or filtered water for drinks, ice, and washing raw salad vegetables.
• Be careful with ice from street vendors; it’s often made with untreated water.
• In summer, homemade shikanjvi with your own clean water and ice is much safer than street drinks.

Kitchen habits that help

• Wash hands with soap before cooking and after handling raw meat.
• Use separate boards for raw meat and for salad and fruit.
• Thaw meat in the fridge, not on the counter.
• Cook smaller amounts in summer so there are fewer leftovers to store.
• When in doubt, throw it out. A stomach infection costs far more than the food.

Simple summer cooking

Choose dishes that are quick to cook and easy to eat fresh: daal, khichdi, aloo anday, kachumber and raita made just before eating. Our freezing guide explains how to freeze food safely, and quick Pakistani dinners has ideas for cooking fresh in less time.

This guide gives general food safety information. If someone has severe or lasting symptoms of food poisoning, especially a child, an elderly person or a pregnant woman, see a doctor.