Food Safety & Emergency Resources

Food Safety Resources

• FightBac! Food Safety Principles https://www.foodsafety.gov/
• Partnership for Food Safety Education, including hands on activities and resources.
• USDA Food safety fact sheets
• USDA Food safety tips
• FDA technical information regarding food safety
• Food Safety Resources for Managing Risk at Home in Food Environments from Cornell University.
• 10 Tips to be Food Safe:A critical part of healthy eating is keeping foods safe. Individuals in their own homes can reduce contaminants and keep food safe to eat by following safe food handling practices. 

Food Storage Tool: Keep for Fresher for Longer

Consider ways to keep our precious food fresher for longer with The FoodKeeper App! A simple tool to help you understand better food and beverage storage solutions. It was developed by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute.

Emergency Food Supplies

• Make An Emergency Food Supply Kit. This section of the FEMA Ready.gov website includes a list of suggested foods to include among your emergency food supplies, food safety steps to take following a disaster, alternative ways to cook food, and how to manage food when your power is out.

Keep your food safe during emergencies: Power outages, floods, and fires

• The USDA website covers how to manage your home refrigerator and freezer during and after a power outage, and what refrigerated or frozen foods will still be safe to eat; and what food and utensils can and cannot be saved after a flood or a fire. (This information is also available as an illustrated 13-page PDF.)
• These CDC Guidelines cover how to be sure your food and water are safe after an emergency.
• FoodSafety.gov has information on how to keep food safe during and after an emergency, including charts on what foods you should throw away after a power outage, for Refrigerated Foods and Frozen Foods.

Emergency Food Worker's Guide to Food Safety

• An Emergency Food Worker’s Guide to Food Safety from Cornell University's Dept. of Food Science, is a 31-page booklet that provides basic food safety instruction for Emergency Workers and Volunteers.
• A Guide to Food Safety in Emergencies is a 24-page booklet for restaurant and institutional food operators, prepared by the Connecticut Dept. of Consumer Protection / Food & Standards Division. It covers immediate steps that must be taken to ensure food safety in a variety of situations, including power outage, flood or sewerage back-up, fire, water service disruption or contamination, and other emergencies; what products can be salvaged or reconditioned; pest control following disasters, and other useful topics.

Water Safety

• The Safe Drinking Water section of the CDC website covers how to make your water safe to drink after a disaster by boiling, using disinfectants, and filters; finding emergency water sources inside and outside the home, some water sources that are unsafe; and useful links.
• The Dealing with a Boil Water Order 2-page document from Cornell University Cooperative Extension on boiling and/or disinfecting water to make it safe to use.
• The Build a Kit – Water on the FEMA Ready.gov website includes tips for storing water in preparation for an emergency.
• Please visit our pages in this section on Water & Septic Issues.

Last updated June 20, 2023