An upcoming conference, hosted by the USDA and NSF, will focus on food safety education. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, March 23-26, 2010.

The Partnership will be giving the following presentations at the conference:

Wednesday, March 24, 2010:

Safe Handling Messages on Food Products: Opportunities and Limitations
Shelley Feist, Partnership for Food Safety Education

While nutrition labeling is an area of much debate, the appearance of safe food handling messages on food products is an area less explored. This presentation discusses the Partnership for Food Safety Education's consumer research findings related to the meat and poultry safe food handling label and alternatives, as well as other ways safe handling information appears on food products.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing of HolidayFoodSafety.org: Initial Promotional Methods and Learnings
Natalia Mikha, Partnership for Food Safety Education

This poster charts the word-of-mouth marketing approaches for a new web-based consumer initiative designed to capture consumer attention during times of peak interest in food safety around winter holidays. With a limited, structured approach to engaging influencers in social networking, the Partnership launched an effort to cultivate community and stimulate exchange among consumers about safe food handling at the holidays and available online resources.

Friday, March 26, 2010:

Exploration of Consumer Attitudes Related to "Stand Time" as a Home Food Safety Practice for Certain Foods
Marty Predd, Brand Amplitude, and Natalia Mikha, Partnership for Food Safety Education

Recent proposed modification of safe food handling guidance on cooking of pork and beef prompted the Partnership for Food Safety Education to initiate qualitative consumer research to explore attitudes related to "stand time" as a home food safety practice for certain foods. This research and resultant consumer messaging will be discussed.

Now in Stores: Opportunities for Retailer Engagement in Consumer Food Safety Education
Moderator: Shelley Feist, Partnership for Food Safety Education

Presentations by:
Adam Johnson, SUPERVALU, Inc.
Gina Nicholson, Kroger Company, Columbus Division
Sherrie Rosenblatt, National Turkey Federation

This session explores the interests, motivations and approaches of food retailers and commodity groups in communicating food safety education messages to their customers. With the Holiday Food Safety Success Kit project as an example, attendees will learn about the elements of a "system" for voluntary retailer participation in planning, reviewing and activating food safety education programming.

Get more information about the 2010 Food Safety Education Conference here!