Food Safety Tips

For reporting an outage and guidance, call the Tompkins County Health Department at 274-6688

• If you think you might lose power, turn the freezer and refrigerator thermostats to the coldest settings. If you have already lost power, use these tips to keep food cold and safe to eat.
• Keep the freezer closed; foods will usually stay frozen at least a day or two depending on the quality of the insulation in the freezer.
• Open the freezer door only to take out food, to move it to a cooler or to add dry ice.
• Use emergency measures; add insulation, cover the freezer with blankets. This will help to keep foods cold for a longer period of time. Do not cover the air vent openings. If alternate working mechanical refrigeration is available, use it. Use dry ice if it is available.
• Use caution if food has thawed; if a frozen, potentially hazardous food is thawed and still at or below 45°F, the food may be cooked and used immediately.
• Meat and poultry products should not be used if the temperature of the meats is above 45°F for more than 2 hours. Properly discard these products.
• Do not refreeze the following: frozen dinners, vegetables, fish, shellfish and ice cream.

Dry Ice

If it seems likely that your freezer will not be on for several days, dry ice may help keep frozen food safe. If a flood or power outage is predicted, and you want to use dry ice, find a source in advance. Follow these guidelines for using and handling dry ice:

• Wear gloves when handling dry ice. Do not touch it with your bare hands because dry ice causes severe frostbite and tissue damage.
• Allow 2 ½ pounds of ice per cubic foot of freezer space. More will be needed for an upright freezer (ice should be placed on each shelf).
• Place boards or heavy cardboard on top of packages. Place dry ice on top of boards. In an upright freezer, place dry ice on each shelf.
• Cover the freezer with blankets or some other covering. Do not lock the freezer or cover the air vent openings (the gas given off by dry ice could cause an air-tight container to explode).
• The carbon dioxide given off by dry ice can cause suffocation if inhaled in large amounts. Open windows or doors for ventilation, and use care when opening the freezer or storage compartment.

The determination as to whether a food facility may remain open during a period of water interruption must be made by the Tompkins County Health Department.

Call the Tompkins County Health Department at (607) 274-6688 immediately if your water supply is interrupted.

Contact your water supplier immediately.

A permitted Food Service Establishment must provide potable water at all times. Should the water supply become affected in such a way as to place public health at risk, a Food Service Establishment is required to take appropriate action to protect the public.

Facilities should develop contingency plans to deal with water emergencies. Include in your emergency plan a list of all equipment that is connected to the water distribution system.

A sufficient supply of potable water is necessary for hand washing, food preparation, equipment cleaning and sanitization, and other food establishment operations. Interruption or contamination of the water supply is especially important since water can serve as a direct vehicle of contamination to food and food service contact surfaces.

There may be circumstances where available alternatives are not sufficient to provide acceptable public health protection.

In the event of an emergency which could result in the contamination of food, including an unexpected interruption to the water supply, the person in charge must immediately take action to protect public health. Control measures involve:

• Calling the Tompkins County Health Department at 274-6688 immediately
• Contacting your water supplier
• Ceasing food service operations immediately

Further directions will be given to your facility once the Health Department assesses the water supply interruption and applicable measures have been taken at your facility.

If you have a fire in your Food Service Establishment:

Call the Tompkins County Health Department Immediately at 274-6688.

• A representative from the Health Department may need to visit your facility following the fire.
• The Health Department may close your facility until services can be restored.
• The local Fire Department may close your facility for structural reasons and/or until the Ansul Unit is recharged.

Following a fire in a Food Service Establishment a thorough assessment of all foods must be made prior to reopening for customer service.

As a general rule food should be managed as follows:

• Alcoholic Beverages, contact the state agency with liquor control authority for disposal or sanitizing instructions.
• Bottled Soft Drinks may be salvaged if bottles are protected by a plastic outer wrap or are in bottles with screw tops. The exterior may be washed, rinsed and sanitized. Soft drinks in glass bottles should be discarded (impossible to clean around and under top).
• Canned Soft Drinks may be salvaged if not exposed to excessive heat or fire. The cans should be cleaned and disinfected. (If exposed to excessive heat contents must be destroyed).
• Dairy Products, Eggs, Butter, Margarine, Cheese and Milk must be destroyed and no attempt at salvage made.
• Sugars, Candy, Flour, Cereal Products, Bakery Products, Dried Beans, Rice and Other Grains-All of these products must be destroyed and no attempt at salvage made.
• Frozen canned fish and meat products (hams, picnics, canned fish) can be salvaged if the fire and heat were not extensive. Wash-rinse and sanitize the exterior of cans prior to using them.
• Products in Glass With Metal Screw-Type or Metal Slip Covers cannot be salvaged. These include: pickles, olives, catsup, steak sauces, salad dressings and syrups. This type of container is impossible to clean and disinfect and must be destroyed.
• Frozen Food other than fish or meat, no salvage can be attempted unless frozen foods were stored in a completely enclosed walk-in or cabinet and electrical service has not been interrupted.
• Produce (Fresh or Dried), no attempt at salvage is permitted. These products must be destroyed.
• Jams, Jellies, Peanut Butter and Baby Food in Glass typically must be destroyed because it is nearly impossible to clean and disinfect the jars, especially under the lip of the cover. The food in the glass container will usually become contaminated when the lid is removed.
• Canned Goods, when heat and water damage is minimal, can be salvaged quickly by cleaning the exterior surfaces and removing them to suitable storage areas. Clean and sanitize the exterior of the canned goods. Remove the labels to clean and sanitize, then re-label the containers.
• If non-food packaged products are wholly or partially destroyed they must be discarded and rendered unusable.

The above information applies to certain circumstances and observations made by the Health Department at your facility following a fire. Not all of the above information applies in all cases.

Contact the Tompkins County Health Department at 274-6688 to schedule a facility visit for inspection following a fire.

During the site inspection, the inspector will help you list the food items that must be discarded due to contamination, inability to clean and sanitize and/or due to destruction/damage by heat or fire.