Food Safety Reminder - Maranoa Region

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Queensland Health reminds Maranoa residents following a disaster event there may be some food in your house that is not safe to eat.

Especially if power has been cut or if food has been in contact with contaminated floodwater. Disaster events include flood, fire, storm or cyclone.

Queensland Health advises after a disaster, it is recommended that you dispose of:

Food (packaged and unpackaged) that has been in contact with contaminated water (e.g. floodwater)
Food that has an unusual odour, colour or texture
Refrigerated food that has been left unrefrigerated or otherwise above 5°C for more than four hours
Frozen food after 48 hours if the freezer is full, or after 24 hours if the freezer is half full. If frozen food has partially thawed, do not re-freeze. The food should be eaten as soon as possible or disposed of.

Queensland Health advises if you lose power, it is recommended that you dispose of:

Make a note of the time the power failed
Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible while the power is off. A closed refrigerator should keep food cold for four hours
Keep the freezer door closed. Freezers will usually not defrost and spoil food for at least 24 hours if half full or 48 hours if full. If frozen foods have thawed, they should not be refrozen but should be kept cold and be eaten as soon as possible.
If you have access to ice or ice bricks, pack your refrigerator and freezer to help maintain a cool temperature
Throw out food that was being cooked when the power failed, if the cooking cannot be completed within 2 hours. If food is already properly cooked, eat it within 2 hours or throw it out.