{"id":4757,"date":"2026-04-02T14:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/chesterfield\/?page_id=4757"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:06:14","slug":"food-establishments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/chesterfield\/food-establishments\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Establishments"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Guidelines for Food Establishments Under a Boil Water Advisory<\/h2>\n<p><strong>All VDH food facilities <\/strong>are affected if there is a boil water advisory (BWA) in your area. Call <strong>(804) 748-1691 x3 <\/strong>to learn how the BWA impacts your operations and <strong>if <\/strong>you can stay open.<\/p>\n<p><strong>During a BWA, <\/strong>a manager or person in charge shall:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Check the safety of the food, water, and ice;<\/li>\n<li>Follow the guidance in this table or close until the BWA ends and the recovery steps are complete; AND<\/li>\n<li>Follow all requirements for flushing lines and clean and sanitize all food contact surfaces prior to resuming normal operations when the BWA is lifted.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Safe water <\/strong>is only:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Commercially bottled water,<\/li>\n<li>Hauled water from a waterworks regulated by the Office of Drinking Water (ODW) that is not under a BWA or from a private home. The water shall be transported in a covered, food-grade, sanitized container, <strong>OR<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Boiled water: Boil water by bringing tap water to a rolling boil for <strong>at least one minute <\/strong>on a stovetop, in an electric kettle, or in a microwave using a microwave-safe container. For large amounts of water, make sure all parts of the water are at a full boil for one minute; this could take as long as 20-30 minutes depending on how much water and how big the pot is.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Use SAFE water to cook\/ prepare food, ice, and beverages, clean food contact surfaces, and wash fruits and vegetables.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Handwashing and Hygiene (Employees and Patrons)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only use SAFE water for handwashing.<\/li>\n<li>Set up a handwashing station with a container of warm water (85-100\u00b0F) that has a lever spigot, bucket to catch water, hand soap, and paper towels. Place these stations in all areas where food is handled and in all restrooms.<\/li>\n<li>Put up a sign telling customers not to use tap water for drinking or brushing teeth.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative<\/em><em>: <\/em>If you are only serving <strong><u>pre-packaged foods<\/u>, <\/strong>you may use chemically treated towelettes.<\/li>\n<li>NOTE: An operational handwashing station must be provided for use in the immediate area of a toilet facility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Washing\/soaking<\/strong> <strong>produce<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not use tap water; only use SAFE water. <em>Alternative<\/em><em>: <\/em>Use pre-washed packaged produce or frozen\/canned fruits and vegetables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Making drinks with water<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not use equipment connected to tap water, such as post-mix drink machines, auto-fill coffee makers, or instant hot water heaters.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative: <\/em>Make drinks with SAFE water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Making food with water<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Throw away any ready-to-eat food made with or touched by unsafe water.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative: <\/em>Make ready-to-eat food with SAFE water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Utensil Washing and Cleaning<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use only SAFE water to clean and sanitize equipment, utensils, and tableware in a three-compartment sink. &#8220;Wash&#8221; shall be at 110\u00b0F.<\/li>\n<li>Use proper sanitizer concentration:\n<ul>\n<li>Chlorine- 50 to 100 parts per million (ppm)<\/li>\n<li>Quaternary ammonia (QUAT)- 200-ppm (or per the manufacturer label)<\/li>\n<li>Iodine- 5-ppm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative (strongly recommended): <\/em>use disposable, single-service utensils and tableware.<\/li>\n<li>NOTE: Do not use dishwashing machines connected to tap water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Thawing frozen foods<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not use tap water to thaw frozen foods; use only SAFE water.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative: <\/em>Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or microwave.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Making<\/strong><strong> Ice<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not make ice. Turn off ice machines and throw away existing ice.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alternative: <\/em>Use store-bought ice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guidelines for Food Establishments Under a Boil Water Advisory All VDH food facilities are affected if there is a boil water advisory (BWA) in your area. Call (804) 748-1691 x3 to learn how the BWA impacts your operations and if you can stay open. During a BWA, a manager or person in charge shall: Check [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":614,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4757","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Food Establishments - Chesterfield Health District<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All VDH food facilities are affected if there is a boil water advisory (BWA) in your area. 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