Food Safety and Natural Disasters

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Food Safety and Natural Disasters

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The ABCDs of Food Safety(in an Emergency)

• Always keep meat, poultry, fish and eggs
  refrigerated at or below 40F and frozen food at
  or below 0.
• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as
  much as possible.

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• Be prepared for an emergency by having items on
  hand that dont require refrigeration and can be
  eaten cold or at room temperature.
• Shelf-stable food, boxed or canned milk, water,
  and canned goods should be part of a planned
  emergency food supply.

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• Consider what you can do ahead of time to store
  your food safely in an emergency.
• When planning, consider the type of disaster that
  you are planning for flood, tornado,
  weather-related.

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• Digital, dial or instant-read thermometers and
  appliance thermometers will help you know if the
  food is at safe temperatures.
• Keep appliance thermometers in the refrigerator
  and freezer at all times.

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Power Outage Foods of Concern

• Greatest concern meat fish poultry dairy
  products eggs and egg products cooked items
  beans, rice, potatoes, pasta potato/pasta/macaron
  i salads and custards and puddings
• Foods that may loose quality salad dressings,
  mayonnaise, butter and margarine, produce, hard
  cheeses
• Foods that will be safe carbonated beverages,
  unopened bottled juices, ketchup, mustard,
  relishes, jams, peanut butter, barbecue sauce

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Power Outage Save or Discard?

• Potentially hazardous food may be kept as long as
  it doesnt warm up above 40 F.
• Frozen foods which are still frozen or are thawed
  but are still cold, or have ice crystals, may be
  used or refrozen.
• If potentially hazardous foods are thawed and
  warmer than 40 F you should discard them. Do not
  refreeze!
• When in doubt, throw it out.

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Safe Drinking Water

• Power outages may affect water purification
  systems so have bottled water on hand.
• Water can be purified by boiling (3 minutes) or
  by adding bleach.
• Water purification tablets can be purchased from
  local pharmacies.

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Food Safety and Floods

• Discard all food that comes in contact with flood
  waters.
• Discard wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils
  and storage containers.
• Thoroughly wash and sanitize metal pans, ceramic
  dishes, and utensils.

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Food Safety and Fires

• Discard food that has been near a fire, including
  food in cans and jars.
• Discard any raw (uncooked) food and food in
  permeable packaging- cardboard, plastic wrap,
  plastic bottles.
• Discard food exposed to fire-fighting chemicals.
• Wash and sanitize all cookware exposed to
  fire-fighting chemicals.

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Food Safety and Tornadoes

• Discard food packages that have been damaged by
  debris.
• Discard any food that may be unsafe due to a
  power outage.
• Wash and sanitize all food packages and cookware
  exposed to the environment because of structural
  damage.

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Food Safety and Winter Storms

• Power outages are often a concern.
• Dont store refrigerated/frozen food outside.
• Take advantage of the cold by making ice.

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How Can You Tell?

• You cant necessarily tellthats the problem.
• Dont rely on appearance or odor.
• Never taste food to determine its safety.
• Use a thermometer to check the temperature of
  food if the power has been out.

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When the Power Returns or the Disaster is Past

• Evaluate all food products.
• Clean surfaces if necessary.
• Discard all items that may be unsafe.

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Thank you!!