Identify and throw away food that may not be safe to eat:
- Throw away food that may have come in contact with flood or storm water.
- Throw away food that has an unusual odor, colour or texture.
- Throw away perishable foods (including raw or cooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk) that have been above 4° Celsius for two hours or more.
- Throw away food containers with screw-caps, snap-lids, crimped caps (soda pop bottles), twist caps, flip tops, snap-open, and home canned foods if they have come into contact with floodwater because they cannot be disinfected.
- Throw away canned foods that are bulging, opened or damaged.
- If cans have come in contact with floodwater or storm water, remove the labels, wash the cans and dip them in a solution of 1 TBSP of bleach in 1 Litre of water. Re-label the cans with a marker.
For more information on what to do with your food during a power outage, please visit the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture website at:
Food safety after a power outage
Saving food when my power is off
Feeding infants
- Breastfed infants should continue breastfeeding. Mothers who are breast-feeding should keep warm, eat well, drink plenty of fluids and snuggle babies close to them.
- For formula-fed infants, use ready-to-feed formula if possible.
Preparing powdered or concentrated formula:
- If ready-to-feed formula is not available, use bottled water to prepare powdered or concentrated formula. Check the bottled water for nitrates and sodium and choose a product with the lowest possible sodium and nitrate content.
- If bottled water is not available, use boiled water. Bring the water to a rolling boil for at least one minute.
- If you do not have bottled or boiled water, you can disinfect the water yourself by one of the following methods:
- Add six drops of newly purchased liquid household bleach (unscented, 4-6% chlorine) per gallon (4.55 Litres) of water. Stir well. Before using, let the water stand overnight, covered with a clean paper towel or a loose lid, in a cooler or refrigerator. This allows the bleach to do its job and then dissipate before you use the water to make formula.
- You may also use water purification tablets from your local pharmacy to treat tap water. Follow the directions on the label. Let the water stand overnight, uncovered, in a cooler or refrigerator. This will allow the purification tablet to do its job and then dissipate before you use the water to make formula.
- Prepare only what your baby will drink in a day and keep it stored at cool temperatures. The safest temperature for bottles of prepared formula is 4°C or less.
- All formula should be fed to your baby at room temperature or not higher than body temperature (37°C/98°F).
- Use a heat source to warm the formula to the required temperature. Some bottle warmers have adapters to use in a car lighter socket.
- Always clean baby bottles and nipples with bottled, boiled or treated water before re-using them.
- Wash your hands before preparing formula and before feeding an infant. You can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer for washing your hands if the water supply is limited
