Preparedness is a key to food safety during a flood. If you expect a flood keep an adequate supply of food, water and emergency equipment on hand. This includes enough canned food to last four to five days, a hand can opener, battery-powered radio, extra batteries and emergency cooking equipment like a camp stove with fuel to operate it.
You will also want to be sure you have enough medication to last you at least one week. Don't forget flashlights, candles, matches, a kerosene lamp, fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit.
Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist for the NDSU Extension Service makes the following recommendations for preparing for a flood emergency.
Fill the bathtub and large containers with water. Each person will need a gallon of water per day. Turn your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting. The colder food is before a possible power failure, the better it will last. If you might or do lose power, a 50-pound block of dry ice should keep the food in a full 18-cubic-foot freezer safe for two days. Dry ice registers at minus 216 F, so wear gloves or use tongs when handling it. Wrap it in brown paper for longer storage and separate it from direct food contact with a piece of cardboard. Fill a partly empty freezer with crumpled newspaper to cut down on air currents that cause the dry ice to dissipate.
Raise refrigerators or freezers by putting cement blocks under their corners. If you keep canned goods and other foods in a basement or low cabinets, move them higher. Flood water may carry silt, raw sewage, oil or chemical waste. If foods have been in contact with flood waters, use this list to determine their safety:
Discard:
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-Meat, poultry, fish and eggs
-Fresh produce
-Preserves sealed with paraffin
-Unopened jars with waxed paper, foil, cellophane or cloth under the lids
-All foods in cardboard boxes or with cardboard seals, such as mayonnaise and salad dressing
-Spices, seasonings and extracts
-Home-canned foods
-Opened containers and packages
-Flour, sugar, grains, coffee and other staples in canisters
-Canned foods that are dented, leaking, bulging or rusted
Undamaged canned goods are safe if you sanitize the containers. Mark contents on can lid with indelible ink. Remove labels because paper can harbor dangerous bacteria. Then wash cans in a strong detergent solution with a scrub brush. Finally, immerse containers for 15 minutes in a solution of 2 teaspoons of chlorine bleach per quart of room temperature water and air dry the can before opening.
Sanitize dishes and glassware the same way. To disinfect metal pans and utensils, boil them in water 10 minutes. Discard wooden spoons, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples, pacifiers and other porous materials.
By preparing yourself ahead of time for a flood you will have more time to take care of last minute issues if a flood does come. More disaster education information is available at your county extension office or on the web at:
(www.ag.ndsu.edu/disaster/flood.html)
Gail Slinde is a food safety and youth development agent for the NDSU Extension Service in Ward County.