Houston Restaurants in the Boil Water Area Have Special Requirements To Meet
Thanks to yesterday’s massive water main breach, most Houston restaurant and bar operators are going to have a tough day today — and choices to make. Open, and do the extra work needed to comply with the City of Houston Health Department requirements, or close and lose a day of revenue.
We’ve received questions about restaurant safety from several readers since yesterday as well, so here’s what they should be looking for, too. Provided that food establishments comply with the following guidelines, it should be safe to dine out today.
Until the boil water notice is lifted, restaurants, bars and other food service businesses in the yellow area of the map below must have a notice posted on the door that it is in effect, and train employees on the current procedures, which includes not only the expected frequent hand-washing but following up with hand sanitizer and allowing hands to air dry.
Ice machines, soda machines and other devices connected to the tap water supply cannot be used, including any coffee machines with a water supply line. The ice supply has to be tossed, as do any beverages such as iced tea that were made with water from yesterday. That means that bagged ice is going to be in huge demand today, as is bottled water. Water used for drinking, washing produce or cooking has to be bottled or boiled.
As far as dishes go, disposable is recommended, but commercial-grade dishwashers are fine to use as long as the water temperature gets between 160 and 180 degrees. Hand-washing using the wash, rinse and sanitize method is also acceptable, as long as the dishes are in the hot water for at least a minute and allowed to completely air dry.
The full list of requirements for food service businesses under the boil water period is available online at the Houston Health Department website. Anyone with questions or concerns can contact the department via email or by calling (832) 393-5100.
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