When a dwelling is damaged by powerful water set off by a natural disaster the outcome is often times overwhelming. The owner of the house is distraught and completely overwhelmed. There is a lot of damage to the residence and things in the interior and outside of it that it is tough to determine where to start to clean up and repair all the destruction. One of the things that should be handled is what to do with the groceries in the kitchen and in the fruit and vegetable garden.



Flood water might be filthy and tainted with sewage, pesticides, and harmful chemicals of all types. This is not something you should have all over the food you swallow or in the water you sip. It is very important that you understand how to handle the clean-up of your food and water sources to avoid serious hazards to your household's health.

If you have food in a garden that was inundated with impure flood water don't try to collect it. There is no specific process to get it clean sufficiently to be edible. The temperature that you have to use to make the food won't be hot enough to kill any bacteria and added germs that have adhered to the vegetables making them toxic to have. Any garden products will have to be thrown out.

Food products such as animal proteins, eggs, and dairy products should be thrown in the garbage. They will be polluted by the flood waters and may likely have spoiled also. Toss any loose food items in your house and any food that is stored in paper or cardboard as it probably was sopping with flood water and therefore contaminated. Uncooked vegetables of any kind must not be ingested.

Canned goods are about the only food products in your house that are salvageable. Inspect them to see if any of them are swollen, have broken seals, or if there are signs of leakage. Throw out any cans that are questionable. The cans that remain in acceptable shape could be salvaged. Take off the stickers from the cans as they are probably overcome with dirty flood water. Use an indelible pen to mark what is in every can. The cans will need to be disinfected prior to them being unsealed. Clean the cans in hot water with dish soap then sanitize them in a bleach product. They need to be dehydrated to keep the cans from rusting. Any sealed bottles need to be looked over for leakage and then washed similar to the canned goods. Throw out any bottles that are opened and discard any bottles that are closed with a cork as the stopper will absorb the contaminated water.

Be certain that you are wearing protective clothing such as safety gloves when you touch the food, bottles, and cans in order to avoid the poisons in the flood water on your body as this may make you really sick. All counters, electrical devices, pans dishes, and utensils need to be cleaned and disinfected before they are utilized to prepare food or consume food with.