Food Facilities Must Meet Specific Requirements Before Reopening After Power Outages

Public Health Sanitarians provide details facilities must meet

Public Health Sanitarians at Greene County Public Health are working diligently with operators of local food facilities to get them reopened and back in business as quickly as possible following the power outages created from the tornado in Greene County on Monday, May 27, 2019.

There are certain requirements that must be met by food facility operators. The following requirements must be met PRIOR to being authorized to reopen:

• All damage to the physical facility must be repaired (if applicable)
• Facility must receive authorization to re-open from the Greene County Building Department
• All perishable frozen/refrigerated food has been removed/discarded from the facility
• Electricity and natural gas supply have been restored•Facility has a functioning potable water supply with hot and cold running water
• Facility has hot water (minimum of 100° F at employee hand sinks, 110° F at ware washing sink)
• *All refrigeration and freezer units must be operational with proper holding temperatures
• All refrigeration/freezer units must be clean and free of food residues/debris
• All refrigeration/freezer units are NOT re-stocked prior to inspection
• All food being re-supplied to the facility must come from an approved source

*It is suggested that the facility operator places a container of water in the refrigeration unit to verify the proper holding temperature as noted above.

Public Health Sanitarians wish to stress the importance of NOT re-stocking the refrigeration and freezer units until the facility has been authorized to do so. Failing to follow these procedures will likely delay the re-opening of the facility and could result in the loss of the re-stocked food.

Facilities wishing to aid storm affected communities by offering free meals should use caution when preparing or using perishable foods that may have been time/temperature abused. Proper food handling and sanitation practices still need to be followed to prevent potential foodborne illness. Please consider contacting Greene County Public Health if you have concerns or questions regarding food safety.

For questions, please contact 937-374-5607 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Greene County Public Health...
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