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Environmental Health

Protecting and promoting the health of the community through education, regulation and enforcement.
Food Safety During Power Outages

If your facility has been without power, it is necessary to ensure proper food safety in terms of cold holding (refrigeration and freezers).  Proper cold holding temperatures are 41*F and below. 

Discard refrigerated perishable food (PHF/TCS) such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, bagged produce, cut tomatoes and melons, cooked foods and dairy after 4 hours without power. A full freezer will hold a safe temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full and the door remains closed). Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 41°F (5°C) or below, however, its quality may suffer. Never taste food to determine its safety. 

Whole uncut fruits and vegetables that are maintained under refrigeration for quality purposes are not considered a food safety risk and maybe retained no matter how long food was out of temperature.

Please visit these websites for more information regarding food safety:

The mission of Washington County Environmental Health is to protect and promote the health of the public by providing inspection and disease prevention services in the areas of food safety (including restaurants and other public food service facilities), public pools and spas, recreation facilities, mosquito control, smoke-free workplace enforcement, onsite wastewater management and drinking water.

We strive to enhance the quality of life in our county and community by educating, performing routine inspections and investigations, taking enforcement action when warranted, and interacting with state, federal and local agencies when appropriate.

If you have any questions, please contact our office during our regular business hours

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