What to toss: Restaurants, residents strongly urged to purge food after Hurricane Ian

Anytime there is a power outage for days, or even hours, food safety becomes a top concern — especially in Florida.

And as restaurants begin reopening after Hurricane Ian, a sense of normalcy returns as many head out to eat after being cooped up at home for days.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Hotels and Restaurants division has urged state food service operators to take special measures during power or water outages and other emergency conditions.

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All public food service establishments "must take action after these events to offset the effects of loss of electricity, flooding, compromised potable water supplies or damage sufficient to contaminate stored food," said department spokesperson Beth Pannell.

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The agency is providing direction during Hurricane Ian's recovery and posted  Emergency Recovery Guidelines for restaurants on its website. Guidelines also were sent to about 52,500 public food service operators in counties impacted by Hurricane Ian.

In an email, Pannell said the Division's field staff will perform post-storm inspections in the days and weeks following a hurricane, making every effort to visit each public food service establishment in affected counties.

The purpose: observe the conditions and operating capacity of establishments, answer an operator’s questions and provide guidance, and provide physical copies of its Emergency Recovery and Boil Water Guidelines when needed.

The Division’s goal: have impacted establishments re-open soon but safely.

The tips given to restaurateurs are applicable to home cooks. Some of it is common sense but surprise suggestions make their list too.

Craving a dry martini with olives? A mere splash from filthy flood water contaminates liquor bottles. Olives inside the refrigerator are OK; those outside and jarred despite being sealed, no.

When in doubt, toss it out

No matter how keen, don't let your sense of smell determine if a product is OK.

If your power was out for four or more hours, grab your food thermometer and check temperatures. If perishables remained at 41 degrees and cooler, you can use the item.

To toss: Meat and poultry, cut fruit, leftovers, mayo-based salads, pizza, "keep refrigerated" labeled canned hams, open cans and used jars of anything, soft or shredded cheeses, eggs and milk and milk-based products go bad after four hours without refrigeration.

In your pantry, throw out boxed foods, crown-capped or pull-tab beverages, jarred and plastic container items if there was the slightest chance of contamination from water splashes.

Wash your hands with bottled or boiled water once the temperature is cool enough to avoid burning.

Skip that salad: When water is compromised, washing your greens could result in dysentery.

Vamos to non-vinegar-based dressings, too.

Tempted to use hand sanitizer? According to the CDC, "Alcohol-based hand sanitizers work by killing germs on your hands while washing your hands with soap and water removes germs from your hands. Handwashing will remove all types of germs from your hands, but hand sanitizers are not able to kill all types of germs."

Got it?

What's safe to keep & eat

Safe to keep sealed items in your fridge include butter; hard and processed cheese plus grated cheese in canisters; non-dairy condiments; fresh uncut fruits and vegetables; and cooked bread and baked goods (including fruit pies) but toss unmade doughy items and anything prepared with eggs or custard.

Toss dented cans; wash and re-label any that remain completely intact.

Also safe, unopened food and beverages packed in retort pouches.

Unsure of your local water quality? Cook foods that don't require it.

Ditch rice and pasta dishes for grillable items in the interim including hard-shelled squashes; anchovy or sardine roasted red peppers with garlic; grilled cheese using your processed cheese; and salvaged bread topped with veggies.

My favorite fiber and protein combo: combine intact cans of cannellini or red beans with tuna.

Diana Biederman is the food and restaurant reporter at Naples Daily News. Connect via diana.biederman@naplesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Food safety protocols: What to toss, what to keep after Hurricane Ian