A flood or the loss of power due to storms could jeopardize the safety of your food. Knowing how to determine if food is safe and how to keep food safe will help minimize the potential loss of food and reduce the risk of foodborne illness. This fact sheet will help you make the right decisions for keeping your family safe after a flood.
ABCD’s of Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency
Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40 °F and frozen food at or below 0 °F. This may be
difficult when the power is out.
Be prepared for an emergency…
… by having items on hand that don’t require refrigeration and can be eaten cold or heated on the outdoor grill. Shelf‐
stable food, boxed or canned milk, water, and canned goods should be part of a planned emergency food supply.
Consider what you can do ahead of time to store your food safely in an emergency. If you live in a location that could be
affected by a flood, plan your food storage on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water.
Digital, dial, or instant‐read food 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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