Consumers in some coastal regions are making plans to ride out another hurricane season and violent summer storms have already made their presence known in the Midwest . The FDA has prepared information to address consumer concerns about food and water during a weather emergency – for more information see: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisas.html

1. Be Prepared

•  Make sure you have appliance thermometers in your refrigerator and freezer. An appliance thermometer will indicate the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer in case of a power outage and help you determine if the food is safe.

•  Make sure the freezer is at or below 0°F and the refrigerator is at or below 40° F.

•  Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator, or coolers after the power is out. If your normal water supply is contaminated or unavailable, the melting ice will supply drinking water.

•  Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk, and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately. This helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.

•  Group food together in the freezer. This helps the food stay cold longer.

•  Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than 4 hours. Purchase or make ice cubes and store in the freezer for use in the refrigerator or in a cooler. Freeze gel packs ahead of time for use in coolers.

•  Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased.

•  Store food on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water in case of flooding.

•  Make sure to have a supply of bottled water stored where it will be as safe as possible from flooding.

 

2. When the Power Goes Out

•  Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. Buy dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic foot fully-stocked freezer cold for two days.

•  If you plan to eat refrigerated or frozen meat, poultry, fish or eggs while they are still at safe temperatures, it's important that the food is thoroughly cooked to the proper temperature to assure that any foodborne bacteria that may be present is destroyed.

•  Wash fruits and vegetables with water from a safe source before eating.

•  For infants, if possible, use prepared, canned baby formula that requires no added water. When using concentrated or powdered formulas, prepare with bottled water if the local water source is potentially contaminated.

 

3. Once Power is Restored

•  Determine the safety of your food. If an appliance thermometer was kept in the freezer, check the temperature when the power comes back on. If the freezer thermometer reads 40°F or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen. If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. You can't rely on appearance or odor. If the food still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below, it is safe to refreeze or cook.

•  Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than 4 hours. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.

•  Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked.

 

4. When Flooding Occurs

Water Safety

•  Use bottled water that has not been exposed to flood waters if it is available.

•  If you don't have bottled water, you should boil water to make it safe. Boiling water will kill most types of disease-causing organisms that may be present. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for boiling. Boil the water for one minute, let it cool, and store it in clean containers with covers.

•  If you can't boil water, you can disinfect it using household bleach. Bleach will kill some, but not all, types of disease-causing organisms that may be in the water. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for disinfection. Add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water, stir it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Store disinfected water in clean containers with covers.

•  If you have a well that has been flooded, the water should be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede. If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice.

Food Safety

•  Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water.

•  Discard any food that is not in a waterproof container if there is any chance that it has come into contact with flood water. Food containers that are not waterproof include those with screw-caps, snap lids, pull tops, and crimped caps. Also, discard cardboard juice/milk/baby formula boxes and home canned foods if they have come in contact with flood water, because they cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitized.

•  Inspect canned foods and discard any food in damaged cans. Can damage is shown by swelling; leakage; punctures; holes; fractures; extensive deep rusting; or crushing/denting severe enough to prevent normal stacking or opening with a manual, wheel-type can opener.

•  Undamaged, commercially prepared foods in all-metal cans and retort pouches (for example, flexible, shelf-stable juice or seafood pouches) can be saved if you do the following:

• Remove the labels, if they are the removable kind, since they can harbor dirt and bacteria.
• Thoroughly wash the cans or retort pouches with soap and water, using hot water if it is available.
• Brush or wipe away any dirt or silt.
• Rinse the cans or retort pouches with water that is safe for drinking, if available, since dirt or residual soap will reduce the effectiveness of chlorine sanitation.
• Then, sanitize them by immersion in one of the two following ways:

•  place in water and allow the water to come to a boil and continue boiling for 2 min., or

•  place in a freshly-made solution consisting of 1 tablespoon of unscented liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water (or the cleanest, clearest water available) for 15 min.

•  Air dry cans or retort pouches for a minimum of 1 hour before opening or storing.

•  If the labels were removable, then re-label your cans or retort pouches, including the expiration date (if available), with a marker.

•  Food in reconditioned cans or retort pouches should be used as soon as possible, thereafter.

•  Any concentrated baby formula in reconditioned, all-metal containers must be diluted with clean, drinking water.

•  Thoroughly wash metal pans, ceramic dishes, and utensils (including can openers) with soap and water, using hot water if available. Rinse, and then sanitize them by boiling in clean water or immersing them for 15 min. in a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water (or the cleanest, clearest water available).

•  Thoroughly wash countertops with soap and water, using hot water if available. Rinse, and then sanitize by applying a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water (or the cleanest, clearest water available). Allow to air dry.

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Arsenic in chicken feed! Linda Heppner shared a concern that a consumer had related to the presence of arsenic in chicken feed. Apparently a Minnesota farm policy group issued a report in April showing that arsenic was found in raw supermarket chicken and in chicken products purchased at fast-food restaurants. I made some inquires and here is what I found:

Coccidiosis is a disease of poultry caused by a microscopic animal or protozoa and is characterized by diarrhea, unthriftiness and variable levels of mortality. In spite of much research to advance the control and treatment of this disease, it remains the most costly disease of the poultry industry. It is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent coccidiosis by sanitation alone. It is best prevented by addition of a drug (coccidiostat) to the feed that controls the growth of coccidia in the digestive tract. Many coccidiostats are available commercially. Coccidiostats should not be indiscriminately used and recommendations must be followed precisely.

The coccidiostats that can be used to treat coccidiosis contain very, very small amounts of arsenic. Coccidiostats can be given to young birds in feed (‘starter' feed or ‘grower' feed); but are not given in the feed of older birds (those on ‘finisher' or ‘withdrawal' feed). Arsenic is a natural element and poultry can also be exposed to arsenic through soil and plant materials. Arsenic that might be in poultry products may, therefore, be there as the result of the use of animal health products or because of natural food sources. It would be normal, therefore, to find some arsenic in chicken products. While elevated levels would be cause for concern, the recent reports do not suggest any harm to human health.

 

Cooked potatoes that are black inside. Mary Fran Lepeska asked why scalloped potatoes develop a black color with cooking. I have seen this happen, too, with baked or boiled potatoes that are cooked and then cooled – they sometimes turn black in the refrigerator. I did some searching (of resources and my brain) and here is my response. There are 2 things that could be causing this reaction, and both are related to storage.

 

Darkening can occur if the potatoes have been held at too cold a temperature during storage - below 50 degrees, usually associated with storage in the refrigerator. This causes the potatoes to sugar (starch hydrolyzes to sugar) and the free sugar can react with protein on heating to produce a brown/black/purple color. There is no harm in eating the potatoes, but the color formation isn't desirable. This is more often seen in potatoes that are pan-fried or French-fried because the high heat of cooking accelerates the reaction.

 

There is also a quality 'defect' in potatoes known as potato after-cooking darkening; it is one of the most widespread, undesirable, characteristics of cultivated potato. It occurs when potatoes are exposed to air after cooking including boiling, baking, frying or dehydration. After-cooking darkening is caused by a non-enzymatic oxidation reaction. A bluish-gray compound ferri-dichlorogenic acid is responsible for the dark color formation. Some potato varieties are more resistant to after-cooking darkening than others. Genetic control governs the darkening, but the degree of the darkening also depends on the plant growth environment and the length and conditions of storage; the color is more pronounced as storage time increases. In one study published by a Canadian university, Russett Burbank was the variety that exhibited this condition more than any other variety.

 

Mealy peaches. I had the chance to talk with the Southern District about fruits and vegetables and a question arose about the ‘mealy' textures sometimes seen in peaches and nectarines. In putting this newsletter together, I came across a research article that described this very ‘disorder' in fruit and a summary is provided below:

Peaches and nectarines ripen and deteriorate quickly at room temperature, so cold storage is used to slow ripening and subsequent decay. However, chilling injury limits the storage life of peaches and nectarines under low temperatures. Chilling injury is a physiological breakdown in tissue that is seen in many fruits when stored at temperatures that are too cold – think of the browning that occurs in a banana skin when the banana is stored in the refrigerator. The browning of the skin is the result of damage to the tissue in cold storage. The banana inside the skin is still safe to consume, but it will have lost some flavor by being chill injured. In peaches and nectarines, chill injury can manifest itself as a wooly/mealy texture, a hard-textured fruit with no juice (leatheriness), flesh or pit-cavity browning, or internal reddening.

In peaches and nectarines, the mealy texture appears to develop more often when fruit are harvested while still somewhat immature, stored at cold temperatures during transit or by a grower, and then ripened after cold storage. The problem is not noticed until the fruit reaches the consumer. A research review in 2005 noted that almost all cultivars of peaches are susceptible to developing mealy texture if the fruit is chill-injured. [Chilling injury in peaches and nectarines by S. Lurie and C. Crisosto. 2005. Postharvest Biology and Technology 37:195-208.]

 

As a consumer, it appears that the only way to re-create the juicy peaches of our childhood is to purchase fruit that is harvested at peak maturity and then to avoid extended storage in the refrigerator. Fruit that is harvested a peak maturity will not ship well (it will suffer too much physical damage), so purchasing locally-grown fruit may help.