Emergency Food Safety FAQ

Dis­card all food that came in con­tact with flood­wa­ters, includ­ing canned goods. It is impos­si­ble to know if con­tain­ers were dam­aged and the seal com­pro­mised.… Con­tin­ue Read­ing Flood waters cov­ered our food stored on shelves and in cab­i­nets. What can I keep and what should I throw out? How should I clean my dish­es and pots and pans?

Drink only approved or chlo­ri­nat­ed water. Con­sid­er all water from wells, cis­terns, and oth­er deliv­ery sys­tems in the dis­as­ter area unsafe until test­ed. Pur­chase bot­tled… Con­tin­ue Read­ing My home was flood­ed and I am wor­ried about the safe­ty of the drink­ing water. What should I do?

Dis­card food that has been near a fire. Food exposed to fire can be dam­aged by the heat of the fire, smoke fumes, and chem­i­cals… Con­tin­ue Read­ing We had a fire in our home, and I am wor­ried about what food I can keep and what to throw away.

No. Frozen food can thaw if it is exposed to the sun’s rays, even when the tem­per­a­ture is very cold. Refrig­er­at­ed food may become too… Con­tin­ue Read­ing A snow­storm knocked down the pow­er lines, can I put the food from the refrig­er­a­tor and freez­er out in the snow?

Nev­er taste food to deter­mine its safe­ty! You will have to eval­u­ate each item sep­a­rate­ly. If an appli­ance ther­mome­ter was kept in the freez­er, read… Con­tin­ue Read­ing Some of my food in the freez­er start­ed to thaw or had thawed when the pow­er came back on. Is the food safe? How long will the food in the refrig­er­a­tor be safe with the pow­er off?

Yes, the food may be safe­ly refrozen if the food still con­tains ice crys­tals or is at 40°F or below. You will have to eval­u­ate… Con­tin­ue Read­ing May I refreeze the food in the freez­er if it thawed or par­tial­ly thawed?