The entire city limits of Benton – or all Benton Utilities customers – is currently under a boil water notice, due to several issues happening Thursday. The following are requirements from the Arkansas Department of Health for restaurant operating during a boil order. We have some really great food in the area, but if you see that a restaurant [in a boil water area] isn’t doing any of these things, DON’T eat there.
Boil Order REQUIREMENTS
- All water used for cooking, preparation, and or mixing of food related establishments must be from an approved source. Bottled water or water briskly boiled for 5 minutes is sufficient.
- Ice produced from a water source involved in the boil order must not be used. Bagged ice from an approved source not involved in the Boil Order is approved for use
- Drink equipment requiring plumbing may not be used for brewing, mixing, or dispensing of any product for human consumption
- Handwashing in food related establishments must be followed by a chlorine dip with not less than 100 ppm chlorine residual.
- Automatic dishwashing machines may NOT be used unless the final rinse of the machine is a chemical sanitizer. Manual wash/rinse/sanitizing may be used provided that a sanitizing chemical is used in the final rinse compartment of the sink. Heating elements or heat as a sanitizer will not be accepted as adequate sanitizers
- No self service purified water produced from a water vending machine connected to a water source involved in a boil order will be used until the boil order is lifted and water samples collected to assure the water is safe for drinking purposes. It is the responsibility of the owner of the machine to provide these samples.
Recommendations for Alternative Procedures to Minimize Water Usage:
- Single-service items or disposable utensils may be substituted for re-useable dishes and utensils
- Pre-prepared foods from approved sources may be used in place of complex preparations on site
- Restrict menu choices
After Boil Order is Lifted, all plumbing MUST be flushed to make sure no water involved in the Boil Order is left in the plumbing.
Recommendations:
- Flush the building water lines and clean faucet screens, water line strainers on mechanical dishwashing machines and similar equipment.
- Flush and sanitize all water-using fixtures and appliances of standing water, such as ice machines, beverage dispensers, hot water heaters, etc.
- Run ice machines through one cycle of ice production and discard the ice and clean the bin.
- Clean and sanitize all fixtures, sinks, and equipment connected to water lines.