MENDOCINO Co., 10/31/19 — Power has been restored, after more than four days, and refrigerators are being cleaned out across Northern California. With all this spoiled or nearly spoiled food, public health officials are providing a few tips for practicing food safety while you sort through what has spoiled and what to save.
Mendocino County’s Health and Human Services agency has provided a useful resource list from the American Red Cross with details on food safety for a variety of different types of items (see below). In general, public officials say one good suggestion is “when in doubt, throw it out.” Unpackaged food waste can be discarded in your compost/green bin, if you are provided one in your neighborhood, and clean recyclables can go in the blue bin.
Here’s the full announcement from Mendocino County Public Health, with more details included below. If you scroll down to the PDF in the article, there is lots of detailed information about food safety for many different types of foods in the five page document.
HHSA-Press-Release-on-Food-Safety-10.31.19Mendocino County Public Health Reminds All to Practice Food Safety
During and After Public Safety Power Shutoffs
The Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Event that began on Saturday, October 26, 2019 has prompted Mendocino County Public Health to remind all who have been affected by this power outage of certain food safety standards to be aware of, specifically in the days during and after a power outage.
A good rule of thumb to live by in this situation is, “When it doubt, throw it out.” Certain foods that have been left improperly refrigerated can develop harmful bacteria if consumed. Please see the attached Infographic from FoodSafety.gov and information from the American Red Cross on how to handle specific foods in the event of a power outage.
Ukiah Waste Solutions has advised the community:
“If you have spoiled food as a result of a power outage:
• Please put unpackaged food waste in your GREEN cart.
• Please put non-recyclable food packaging in your GREY cart.
• Please put empty clean & dry recyclable containers in BLUE cart.
Unsure if an item can be recycled curbside? Visit UkiahRecycles.com for guidelines.
