Health

Affected Foods Should Not Be Used or Consumed in Preparation for Fourth of July Festivities

As temperatures and barbecues heat up, the DC Department of Health (DOH) reminds residents of the importance of food safety and hydration when preparing for outdoor celebrations this weekend. 

The topic of food safety is even more important, as the District of Columbia begins to recover from recent power outages that affected large portions of the city.  Foods that have not been properly refrigerated for more than 4 hours are at risk of making residents sick if consumed.  Residents who were without power for more than 1-2 days are advised to dispose of all perishable food items located in their refrigerators during the power outage.  Residents whose freezers were without power for more than 48 hours are advised to dispose of all frozen foods.  When preparing for Fourth of July festivities, DOH strongly encourages residents to use fresh foods and not foods that were stored in refrigerators or freezers that were affected by the recent power outage.