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FAQ #26969

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My garden was covered with floodwater. Is it all right to can the produce?

Related resource areas: Agrosecurity and Floods, Food Safety


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Gardening presents an especially critical food safety issue, especially in cases where produce has been exposed to floodwater. For example, it's especially risky to eat produce exposed to floodwater containing raw sewage.

Some produce can be washed thoroughly or peeled or boiled. Even so, raw foods, such as spinach or lettuce, present special challenges. Following flooding, these foods should not be eaten raw because rinsing is often not enough to remove all the contaminants.

Browse related FAQs by tag: disasters, floods, disaster, food safety, garden, fscop

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