How to prepare and store food during the rainy season

(Baonghean.vn) - During the rainy season, power outages and floods often occur, and the supply of food, water, and medicine becomes more difficult than usual. Therefore, storing food with a long shelf life will help your family stay healthy during the rainy season. Here are a few things you can do:

Food groups to stock up on

1. Fresh food

Fresh foods can be refrigerated for 3-5 days. Therefore, housewives should buy pork, beef, chicken in advance, then prepare and store in the freezer. When needed, they can be thawed and processed as usual.

You should prepare vegetables and fruits that can be kept for a long time during storms. Illustration photo/Source tieudungplus

In addition to meat, housewives should buy 3-5 types of green vegetables such as mustard greens, spinach, Malabar spinach, squash, and pumpkin to keep in a dry place. In the cool weather of rainy days, green vegetables can be left outside for 2 days and in the refrigerator for up to 4.5 days. Vegetables such as squash, pumpkin, potatoes, and carrots can be left outside for up to 4.5 days.

And one indispensable food is eggs. If stored properly, eggs can last up to 15 - 20 days.

2. Dry food

Housewives should check rice, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, cooking oil...

Canned foods are essential during storms. Illustration photo/Source: Flickr

Some types of dried foods that should be available on rainy and stormy days include: dried fish, instant noodles, canned foods such as canned meat, canned fish, instant sausages, dried pork floss, and bread, cakes, and condensed milk.

If there is information about a big and long storm, you should prepare a lot of bread, cakes and condensed milk in case the worst case scenario is that you cannot cook, so you still have instant food.

For canned foods, pay attention to check the expiration date and arrange a reasonable diet for the family.

3. Drinking water

You should prepare plenty of bottled water when a storm occurs. Illustration photo/ Source TTO

First of all, families should have measures to store clean water in tanks, barrels, buckets, etc. in case of water cut-off. In addition, they should prepare plenty of bottled water, bottled fruit juice, and canned milk. All should be stored in a dry place so that they can be easily used when needed. They should not be placed in places in the house that are prone to flooding.

For one person a day you should have at least 3 liters of water, or 45 liters of water for a family of four and it is best to have at least three days' worth of drinking water in reserve for emergencies (including the case where you cannot boil drinking water).

How to store food

1. Check the refrigerator temperature

Keep food at safe temperatures. Illustration photo/Source healthplus

Refrigerators help extend the shelf life of food for a short time, but the temperature in the refrigerator must be adjusted to the right level. Studies show that if the refrigerator is too “warm”, it will create a perfect environment for harmful bacteria to grow.

The ideal refrigerator temperature is below 40°F. At this temperature, foods are safer to eat.

2. During a power outage

In the event of a power outage, refrigerator and freezer doors must be completely closed to maintain cold temperatures. A fully loaded freezer, if the door is closed, will stay cold for about 48 hours, while a half-filled freezer will stay cold for 24 hours. A refrigerator, on the other hand, will only stay cold for about 4 hours after a power outage.

Four hours after a power outage, spoiled food should be thrown away. Although these foods do not emit a foul odor, they can still contain bacteria that can make you and your family sick, especially those with weakened immune systems such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly.

The following foods should be discarded: cooked or raw meat, fish, eggs, milk and milk products. Also, leftovers from previous days, such as tuna, rice, pasta, salads, dressings, etc., should be thrown away.

3. When the power comes back on

Now it’s time to check to see if the food in your freezer is still fresh and safe to eat. If you have a thermometer in the freezer and it is below 40°F, your food is safe to eat. If you are extra careful, you can check each package individually, and if it is still frozen or below 40°F, you can continue to refrigerate it or cook it.

The next step is to throw out any spoiled food from your refrigerator and freezer and clean out your refrigerator. Once the temperature in your refrigerator drops below 40°F, you can put new food in.

4. When the house is flooded

You should not regret food that has been submerged in water because it is very likely to contain pathogens. Illustration photo/Labor Source

Hurricanes often bring flooding and can contaminate drinking water. It is best to boil water and let it cool before drinking or drink bottled water during this time.

Do not eat food that has been exposed to floodwater or food that has been taken from containers that have been flooded.

Soda bottles, soft drinks with screw caps, twist-off caps, canned foods, etc. that have come into contact with floodwaters cannot be disinfected.

Prepared foods in metal cans can be disinfected by rinsing the can and then sterilizing it with a solution of one tablespoon of bleach dissolved in one gallon of water. Then, remove the old label and rewrite the expiration date and other necessary information on the can.

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