Ammonia leak prompts food bank to dump 1.8M pounds of food

HOUSTON – An ammonia leak that contaminated all three of the Houston Food Bank’s refrigerated storage areas has forced it to dump 1.8 million pounds of food just over a week before Thanksgiving Day.

The Houston Chronicle reports a fan broke in one of the food storage areas a week ago, severing a line feeding ammonia coolant and contaminating the food.

No injuries were reported from the toxic contamination, but Food Bank President Brian Greene says the food contaminated ranged from oranges and apples to rice and beans.

As of Tuesday, the shelves in the vast storage room where the leak happened had been emptied and a team had begun scrubbing down the areas.

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com