Updates

Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Report on Keeping Food and Water Safe After a Natural Disaster or Power Outage

LITTLE ROCK – Officials at the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) are urging residents of storm-damaged areas to be careful with food and water during the clean-up efforts that are continuing this week. “Food and water supplies need to be evaluated carefully after an emergency to make sure that it is safe,” Terry Paul, Branch Chief for Environmental Health at the ADH Center for Local Public Health said. “Safe water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene may not be available in some areas,” Paul continued. “We are asking folks to work closely with our Environmental Health Specialists in the Local County Health Units in all the affected areas to make sure they understand what they need to do to make sure their food and water supplies are safe.” The following guidelines are being issued to help residents insure food and water safety:

  • Throw away food that may have come in contact with flood or storm water.
  • Throw away food that has an unusual odor, color, or texture.
  • Throw away perishable foods (including meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers) that have been above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (F) for 2 hours or more.
  • Thawed food that contains ice crystals or is 40 degree F or below can be refrozen or cooked.
  • Throw away canned foods that are bulging, opened, or damaged.
  • Food containers with screw-caps, snap-lids, crimped caps (soda pop bottles), twist caps, flip tops, snap-open, and home canned foods should be discarded if they have come into contact with floodwater because they cannot be disinfected.
  • If cans have come in contact with floodwater or storm water, remove the labels, wash the cans, and dip them in a solution of 1 cup of bleach in 5 gallons of water. Re-label the cans with a marker.
  • Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice, or make baby formula.

Store food safely.

  • While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
  • Add block ice or dry ice to your refrigerator if the electricity is expected to be off longer than 4 hours. Wear heavy gloves when handling ice.

Feeding Infants and Young Children

  • Breastfed infants should continue breastfeeding. For formula-fed infants, use ready-to-feed formula if possible. If using ready-to-feed formula is not possible, it is best to use bottled water to prepare powdered or concentrated formula. If bottled water is not available, use boiled water. Use treated water to prepare formula only if you do not have bottled or boiled water.
  • If you prepare formula with boiled water, let the formula cool sufficiently before giving it to an infant.
  • Clean feeding bottles and nipples with bottled, boiled, or treated water before each use.
  • Wash your hands before preparing formula and before feeding an infant. You can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer for washing your hands if the water supply is limited.

Water Water may not be safe to drink, clean with, or bathe in after an emergency like a tornado. During and after a disaster, water can become contaminated with microorganisms, such as bacteria, sewage, agricultural or industrial waste, chemicals, and other substances that can cause illness or death. This fact sheet offers the following guidance to help you make sure water is safe to use:

  • Listen to and follow public announcements. Local authorities will tell you if tap water is safe to drink or to use for cooking or bathing. If the water is not safe to use, follow local instructions to use bottled water or to boil or disinfect water for cooking, cleaning, or bathing.
  • Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water for drinking (however, see guidance in the Food section for infants), cooking or preparing food, washing dishes, cleaning, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, making ice, and bathing until your water supply is tested and found safe. If your water supply is limited, you can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer for washing your hands.
  • If you use bottled water, be sure it came from a safe source. If you do not know that the water came from a safe source, you should boil or treat it before you use it.

Related Resources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001401-d001500/d001474/d001474.html http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/foodwater/facts.asp

FDA: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisas.html http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisas5.html http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisa6a.html USA.gov: http://www.foodsafety.gov/ USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline: 1-888-MPHotline. Available for consumers’ questions and concerns about food safety.