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Food Safety News published guidance on Oct. 9 for reducing foodborne illness risks after hurricanes, when flooding and prolonged power outages can make food and kitchen items unsafe. The advice says not to taste food to check it, to discard refrigerated and frozen food after several days without power, and to reject items that may have contacted floodwater unless they meet specific salvage rules.
Food Safety News published hurricane-recovery guidance on Oct. 9, warning that floodwater and prolonged power outages can make food and kitchen items unsafe. The report advises people not to taste food to judge its safety, to discard refrigerator and freezer contents after several days without power, and to use only drinking water and beverages that have not contacted floodwater.
The guidance says to discard food that is not in a waterproof container if it may have touched floodwater. It specifically warns that screw caps, snap lids, pull tops and crimped caps do not make a container waterproof. Bottled water and other beverages exposed to floodwater should also be discarded, including bottles with screw caps.
Some commercially prepared products may be salvageable: undamaged food in all-metal cans or retort pouches, including certain shelf-stable juice or seafood pouches, can be kept if handled according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service guide for severe storms and hurricanes. The report does not recommend tasting any item as a safety test.
For dishes and utensils exposed to floodwater, the guidance recommends washing metal pans, utensils and ceramic dishes thoroughly with hot, soapy water, rinsing them, then sanitizing them. Its stated options are boiling them in clean water or immersing them for 15 minutes in a solution of one tablespoon of unscented liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of drinking water. Wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers that may have contacted floodwater should be discarded.
Reducing Food Risks After Flooding
Hurricanes can disrupt both safe food storage and access to clean water. Floodwater may contaminate food packaging and kitchen equipment, while an extended outage can leave refrigerated and frozen food without dependable temperature control. The guidance gives households practical ways to decide what to discard and which items may be cleaned or kept, helping reduce the risk of illness during recovery.
The advice also draws a clear line between items that may be treated and those that should be thrown away. Keeping an exposed item because its packaging looks intact can be unsafe when that package is not waterproof. Likewise, a food’s appearance or taste cannot establish that it is safe; the report explicitly says not to taste food to make that decision.
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Floodwater and Outage Guidance
The Food Safety News report, published at 8:02 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2026, focuses on two common post-hurricane hazards: flooding and prolonged loss of electricity. It directs readers to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety during severe storms and hurricanes for additional instructions on eligible canned and pouch foods.
For people without bottled water, the report says to consult instructions on how to boil or disinfect water safely. It does not give a specific water-treatment procedure in the material provided. Readers can contact the Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, or reach the service by email or Ask USDA live chat, according to the report.
“Never taste a food to determine its safety.”
— Food Safety News report
Local Conditions Shape Food Decisions
The report does not identify a specific hurricane, affected location or local recovery timeline. It also does not provide details about individual households’ outage durations, refrigerator temperatures or the degree of floodwater exposure. Those facts can affect decisions, so the general guidance should not be treated as an inspection of a particular item.
The material provided points readers to separate USDA instructions for salvaging eligible canned and pouch products and for treating water, but does not reproduce those procedures. Whether a specific item is safe may therefore require checking the relevant official guidance or contacting the hotline. The report does not claim that every metal can or pouch exposed to flooding can be saved; it limits that advice to undamaged, commercially prepared foods in those package types and refers readers to the FSIS guide.
Check Official Advice Before Reuse
People recovering from a hurricane can use the report’s discard and cleaning guidance, then consult the FSIS severe-storm and hurricane guide for instructions on eligible canned and pouch foods. Anyone without bottled water should follow reliable official directions for boiling or disinfecting water rather than improvising a method.
For questions, the report lists the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854, available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, as well as email and Ask USDA live chat. Local conditions and any updated public-health instructions remain relevant as recovery continues.
Key Questions
Should I taste food to see if it is safe after a hurricane?
No. Food Safety News advises against tasting food to determine whether it is safe. Use official discard guidance instead.
What should I do with food after several days without power?
The report says to throw away food in the refrigerator and freezer if the power has been out for several days. It refers readers to the relevant food-safety chart and official guidance for more detail.
Can I keep bottled drinks that may have touched floodwater?
No. The guidance says to discard bottled water or other beverages that may have contacted floodwater. Screw caps are not waterproof.
Which kitchen items should be discarded after floodwater exposure?
Discard wooden cutting boards, plastic utensils, baby bottle nipples and pacifiers that may have contacted floodwater. The report says metal pans, utensils and ceramic dishes can be washed and sanitized using its stated procedure.
Where can I ask about food safety after a storm?
The report lists the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time. It also provides the email MPHotline@usda.gov and Ask USDA live chat.
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