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Hurricane Ian has made landfall and those in its path brace for the potential damage it may cause. With so many safety concerns, it can be easy to overlook food safety risks, but prolonged power outages and flood damage are big risks to your food. Here are some useful tips that can help keep you and your family safe from foodborne illness during a hurricane.
Tips from the USDA and FDA:
Action plan before a storm hits:
During a Storm
Keep food at recommended temperatures. Keep in mind that perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs not kept at recommended temperatures can make you sick—even if thoroughly cooked.
Do not eat or drink anything that has touched flood water, including food packed in non-metal containers.
How to sanitize cans of food:
How to sanitize containers, countertops, pots, pans, dishware and utensils:
How to make tap water safe to drink:
After a natural disaster, water may not be safe to drink. Area Health Departments will determine whether the tap water can be used for drinking. If the water is not potable or is questionable, then follow these directions:
After a storm
If water supply is still unsafe, boil water or use bottled water.
once power is restored, check the temperature inside your refrigerator and freezer. You can safely eat or refreeze food in the freezer if it is below 40 F.
If your freezer does not include a thermometer, then check the temperature of each food item. If the item still contains ice crystals or is at or below 40 F, you can safely refreeze it.
Discard any perishable food—for example, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk—that has been in a refrigerator or freezer at or above 40 F for 2 hours or more.
When in doubt, throw it out.
Farmers in the storm’s path
Among those in Hurricane Ian’s path are farmers and their fields of crops grown for human consumption. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has several resources to help growers who may be affected by the impacts to their crops from severe weather conditions.
The FDA’s Guidance for Industry: evaluating the Safety of Flood-affected Food Crops for Human Consumption provides the information that producers can use as they assess potential damage to their food crops. This guidance is an important resource for the growers who produce and market these crops, as they are responsible for assuring the safety of flood-affected food crops for human consumption.
The FDA reminds harvesters that generally if the edible portion of a crop is exposed to contaminated flood waters, it is considered “adulterated” under the Federal, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and should not enter the human food supply. This applies to all food crops including underground crops (e.g., peanuts, Copotatoes). For crops that were in or near flooded areas but wher flood waters did NOT contact the edible portions of the crops, the growers should evaluate the safety of the crops for human consumption on a case-by-case basis for possible food safety concerns.
Sometimes, crops that have been harvested and then subsequently deemed unsuitable for human use can be salvaged for animal food.
USDA announces Florida office closures
Due to Hurricane Ian, several of the Florida NRCS offices and USDA Service Centers will be closed the remainder of this week. A full list of closures and contact information can be found here.
Find more food safety tips during storms or other emergencies at the USDA website.
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