Food safety tips are necessary to follow to ensure that no food-borne illnesses surface as a result of power disruption and other problems associated with storms. The Food Safety and Inspection Service division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued recommendations for those in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, in response to Hurricane Earls environmental threats.
According to Citizen-Times.com, FSIS Administrator Al Almanza cautioned that strong winds, heavy rains and flooding that a hurricane can bring in its wake can also create food safety and public health risks.
Recommendations include what to do to prepare for a weather emergency, and what to do immediately after. For example, make sure you keep your freezer at 0F or below and the refrigerator is at 40F or below, and to discard refrigerated perishable foods after 4 hours without power.
Consumers can take comfort in knowing that information is readily available to help them protect their food supply as Earl charts a path for a potential landfall along the Eastern Seaboard in the days ahead, Almanza said.
