Emergency Food: What to Buy
Many times, there is little to no warning before a natural disaster hits. Whether a hurricane, flood, tornado, earthquake or blizzard threatens you, having an emergency preparedness kit full of nonperishable food items can help ease your mind. Any of these disasters can leave you without electricity for an extended length of time.
Because you will most likely be using more energy during an emergency, you need to eat high-protein foods. A limited food supply means that you will need to purchase high-quality foods.
Elizabeth Andress is a professor and food safety specialist at the University of Georgia. She states that during an emergency people usually focus on meeting their basic needs and are not that concerned …show more content…
Purchasing your items in cans makes them less likely for floodwaters to contaminate the food inside. Professor Andress states that people should not eat jarred or home-canned foods after they have been exposed to floodwaters.
What to avoid when buying Emergency Food
Perishable food to avoid adding to your emergency food stockpile includes meat, fish, poultry eggs, dairy products that need to be refrigerated. Foods that require refrigeration or need to be frozen can cause illness even if cooked through.
Many people wonder at what point their refrigerated/frozen food becomes inedible; according to the Federal Drug Administration, you can safely eat refrigerated foods as long as the refrigerator/freezer door remains closed and the power returns within a four-hour timeframe. To avoid becoming ill, you need to discard all perishable foods that remain above 40 degrees at the two-hour mark.
Not all Emergency Food is created equal
At Emergency Essentials®, we know that each family and its needs are unique. That is why we offer our customers an extensive variety of food choices, as well as packaging and size …show more content…
Oxygen, light and moisture greatly affect the shelf life, and food quality (including taste) of emergency preparedness foods. Our foods are of better quality because we design our packaging to protect the foods inside from these harmful effects.
Oxygen – Oxygen has the ability to cause food to spoil spontaneously. Oxidative spoilage is the main cause of quality loss in the fatty portions and fats of foods. The result of oxidation is foul odors and unpleasant flavors.
Light – Exposing foods to light can cause photodegradation to occur. When spoilage occurs, pigments, proteins, fats and vitamins are affected. This usually results in off-flavors, discoloration and vitamin loss.
Moisture – The amount of water in foods influences its texture, appearance and ultimately, its flavor. While every food contains some water, too much water/moisture can cause spoilage because it allows yeast, bacteria and mold cells to grow. Excess moisture also allows chemical reactions to occur within the food
Many times, there is little to no warning before a natural disaster hits. Whether a hurricane, flood, tornado, earthquake or blizzard threatens you, having an emergency preparedness kit full of nonperishable food items can help ease your mind. Any of these disasters can leave you without electricity for an extended length of time.
Because you will most likely be using more energy during an emergency, you need to eat high-protein foods. A limited food supply means that you will need to purchase high-quality foods.
Elizabeth Andress is a professor and food safety specialist at the University of Georgia. She states that during an emergency people usually focus on meeting their basic needs and are not that concerned …show more content…
Purchasing your items in cans makes them less likely for floodwaters to contaminate the food inside. Professor Andress states that people should not eat jarred or home-canned foods after they have been exposed to floodwaters.
What to avoid when buying Emergency Food
Perishable food to avoid adding to your emergency food stockpile includes meat, fish, poultry eggs, dairy products that need to be refrigerated. Foods that require refrigeration or need to be frozen can cause illness even if cooked through.
Many people wonder at what point their refrigerated/frozen food becomes inedible; according to the Federal Drug Administration, you can safely eat refrigerated foods as long as the refrigerator/freezer door remains closed and the power returns within a four-hour timeframe. To avoid becoming ill, you need to discard all perishable foods that remain above 40 degrees at the two-hour mark.
Not all Emergency Food is created equal
At Emergency Essentials®, we know that each family and its needs are unique. That is why we offer our customers an extensive variety of food choices, as well as packaging and size …show more content…
Oxygen, light and moisture greatly affect the shelf life, and food quality (including taste) of emergency preparedness foods. Our foods are of better quality because we design our packaging to protect the foods inside from these harmful effects.
Oxygen – Oxygen has the ability to cause food to spoil spontaneously. Oxidative spoilage is the main cause of quality loss in the fatty portions and fats of foods. The result of oxidation is foul odors and unpleasant flavors.
Light – Exposing foods to light can cause photodegradation to occur. When spoilage occurs, pigments, proteins, fats and vitamins are affected. This usually results in off-flavors, discoloration and vitamin loss.
Moisture – The amount of water in foods influences its texture, appearance and ultimately, its flavor. While every food contains some water, too much water/moisture can cause spoilage because it allows yeast, bacteria and mold cells to grow. Excess moisture also allows chemical reactions to occur within the food