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Hurricane Brought New Urgency to Food Safety Vehicle Service

Posted on: Monday, 5 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Joe Ruff, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Dec. 2--As part of its disease-prevention initiatives, the Food Safety Inspection Service in March 2003 began sending a mobile home stocked with food safety information to fairs, festivals, schools, senior citizen centers, grocery stores and parades.

The purpose was to spread the word that careful food storage and preparation -- including in the home -- is critical to food safety.

In 2004, the mobile home and its driver, retired food safety service manager Tim Leonard, traveled 21,000 miles.

When Hurricane Katrina hit in late August, causing major damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, killing more than 1,000 people and displacing more than 1 million, Richard Raymond, undersecretary of the food safety service, diverted Leonard from county fairs and festivals to areas affected by the storm.

Leonard's work with the food safety mobile home included giving away educational materials, refrigerator thermometers, bleach and other products to help people clean and even decide when they simply had to throw away their stoves, refrigerators, pots and pans.

Raymond said that telling people to throw things away was a tough message, but sometimes necessary.

"Folks had to know that if they ate that food and prepared it in those containers, they might get sick and they might die," Raymond said.

Hurricane Rita struck in late September, damaging areas of Florida, Louisiana and Texas, and Raymond had officials prepare and dispatch a second mobile home to help hurricane victims.

The hurricanes made food safety messages all the more urgent, Raymond said.

"As in public health, we will never know if we saved a life with that van. We will never know that, but that's what's beautiful about public health, because you might have saved a thousand, too."

Following are excerpts from a diary that Leonard kept during his tour of the South after Hurricane Katrina:

--Saturday, Sept. 17, Day 1

"Now it begins -- reality sets in. Hurricane Katrina is now classified as the most destructive in U.S. history. I took I-65 into Mobile, Alabama, and there the damage became apparent. Lots of trees and signs were down. RV parks are filled to capacity from Pascagoula to as far away as Mobile. No lodging is available anywhere."

--Monday, Sept. 19, Day 3 Ocean Springs, Miss.

"One gentleman asked questions about organizations that he might want to contact for assistance. People are still appreciative and sincerely thankful. One lady that got a refrigerator thermometer, bleach and baking soda was very moved. She asked, 'Is there any way I could help or make a contribution?' Then she started weeping."

"'Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency' fact sheet was definitely the most popular handout today. The folks that delivered the hand sanitizer gave me a book called 'Hurricane Clean Up and Sanitation Guidelines.' It has great information to refer to when folks have tough questions. Having this information handy for people was like hitting the jackpot -- people really appreciate it."

--Tuesday, Sept. 20, Day 4 D'Iberville, Miss.

"The cleaning supplies were a big hit, just like the hand sanitizer. I've got only about 3 boxes of hand sanitizer left from the 14 delivered on Sunday. Unfortunately, there have been other holdups from shipping delays. I was supposed to receive new disaster materials FSIS created specifically for this area, but they haven't caught up to me yet. The main giveaway people were interested in today was the refrigerator thermometer."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

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Source: Omaha World-Herald

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