How To Handle Food

USPA NEWS - On Sunday, Premier Tim Houston met with the media to provide an update after visiting some of the areas hardest hit by Fiona. He said, "The priority right now is getting power back to people and getting people safe shelter. That will take time." In closing, Premier Houston thanked all of the power crews, first responders, Red Cross volunteers along with all municipal, provincial and federal government departments that have been working around the clock to assist throughout this very serious weather event.

Even though it has been over 48 hours since Hurricane Fiona made landfall in eastern Nova Scotia, thousands of residents are still without power and there is major damage to infrastructure. Power crews have been working tirelessly, but we are being told it could be several more days or longer before everyone will have their power restored.

As power is slowly being restored, many families are wondering which food from the fridge or freezer can be saved and which items should be discarded. Nova Scotia EMO has posted the following guidelines that should be followed. Please see the following statement and slides:

"In the event of power outages, it's important to know at what point foods must be discarded. We have a handy guide to help. There are widespread power outages across the province. Nova Scotians are reminded that food in fridges and freezers can become a health risk when power is out. More information is available at https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/food-protection/docs/factsheet-flood.pdf . Flood water can also impact food safety; more information is available at https://novascotia.ca/agri/documents/food-safety/factsheet-poweroff.pdf ."