Keep drinking water and food safe
Unsafe water and spoiled food cause illnesses that are dangerous when care is far away, especially for babies, older adults and pregnant people.
How
- Use the treated, tested supply from the water module for drinking and for mixing any liquid medicine; FDA says to reconstitute medicines only with purified or bottled water.
- If you must treat water in an emergency: bring clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 ft, about 2,000 m). Or follow CDC bleach guidance: 8 drops of 5 to 9% bleach per gallon. Double it for cloudy or very cold water. Then wait at least 30 minutes before drinking.
- For stored tanks, use the chlorine targets and test kit check in water-16. The same 30-minute minimum applies everywhere on this platform.
- Follow the WHO five keys: keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, use safe water and raw materials.
- Keep the food fridge at 40 F (4 C) or below. CDC says perishable food is unsafe after about 4 hours without power in a closed fridge. When in doubt, throw it out.
Safety: Only use plain unscented bleach for water disinfection and follow the label and CDC instructions exactly. Wait at least 30 minutes after adding chlorine before drinking.
Do these first
Sources
- How to Make Water Safe in an Emergency. CDC, accessed 2026-11
- Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster. FDA, accessed 2026-11
- Five Keys to Safer Food (WHO posters, hosted by Jamaica MIIC). World Health Organization, accessed 2026-11
- Keep Food Safe After a Disaster or Emergency. CDC, accessed 2026-11