News Release
August 15, 2003
A reminder of how to keep yourself and your food safe during this power outage
During power outages, especially during the hot summer months,
it is important to be aware and well informed of basic safety tips
to keep yourself and your food safe. Health Canada recommends that
you follow these simple tips:
- Stay cool and avoid going outside;
- Try to stay in a cooler location such as your basement;
- Reduce physical activity;
- Increase fluid intake, especially water; and
- Only use candles when necessary and never leave burning candles
unattended.
In addition, the information below is intended to keep your food
safe:
- Food that needs to be kept cold, such as meat, should be kept
in the refrigerator or freezer, or in the coolest location possible;
- Only open fridges and freezers if absolutely necessary and
for very brief periods of time;
- Don’t eat food that should be kept cold or refrigerated,
if that food has been at room temperature for more than two hours.
If that food is still cold to the touch, it should be safe to
eat;
- Most chest freezers (deep freezer), if kept closed, will keep
food frozen for 24 hours without power (i.e. during a power outage);
- For food stored in other types of freezers, such as your refrigerator
freezer, you should check if it is cold to the touch before consuming.
For further information on food safety and the power outage, refer
to the following URL Web links:
Ontario
- U.S. Power Outage 
Government of Canada
Government of Ontario
Food Safety / Personal Safety
Related Sites (Information may not be available in both
official languages)
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