| Partnership for Food Safety Education

BAC Fighter Game Teaches Refrigerator Safety

June 26, 2015

My go-to food safety educational game for open houses and health fairs is my refrigerator game. When you only have a minute or two with people, I’ve learned you have to make food safety eye-catching, interactive, and understandable for young kids to older adults.

I made my own mini-refrigerator out of junk Styrofoam and rubber. I have my audience role a dice, and if the number is positive or negative I’ll ask them to tell me one way food was stored correctly or incorrectly in the refrigerator.

Most people walk away learning that you shouldn’t keep your eggs in the refrigerator door despite how most refrigerator are designed, and that an appliance thermometer is important to have. My audience also learns that the refrigerator should be 40°F or lower, and that meat should be wrapped and placed on a lower shelf.

About the author:

Shauna Henley works for the University of Maryland Extension as a Family & Consumer Sciences educator. She focuses on teaching food safety, nutrition, and physical activity to the great Baltimore community.

Food Safety Superstar

May 26, 2015

What do you do when you have an encounter with a serious foodborne illness? You Fight BAC! ®

Dana Dziadul acquired Salmonella Poona after eating contaminated cantaloupe at the age of three. She’s developed reactive arthritis as a result of the food poisoning. It affects her life every day. Dana’s experience with a serious illness inspired her to become a food safety advocate – specifically to help keep children like her seven- year old sister safe from food poisoning.

Dana, now 17, has released a book titled Food Safety Superstar that turns the four core practices into four core Superpowers every kid (and adult) needs to protect themselves against food poisoning. According to Dana, anyone can gain these superpowers with a little education.

Dana will join the Partnership for Food Safety Education and hundreds of health and food safety educators at the Consumer Food Safety Education Conference 2014. She will be featured in the plenary session, Champions for Consumers: Food Safety Educators in Action.

Louisiana BAC Fighter Hosts Power Packed Camp

May 26, 2015

Linda Gauthier and her team at Louisiana State University (LSU) hosted a Microbiology and Food Safety Camp from July 14-18, 2014 for 7th and 8th graders on the LSU campus.

During the camp, students:

Constructed a giant microbe.
Researched bacteria and made three dimensional models using yarn, Styrofoam, etc.
Created food safety recipes cards with food safety tips for each ingredient and step of the recipe. Afterwards, they shared their recipes with other campers!
Learned the science of cooking a hamburger.
Designed a new package for food and created mock advertisements for their products.
Created their own “most unwanted pathogens” poster.
Visited a food engineering plant, the LSU Food Science Lab, and a microbiology lab.

The campers went home happy after a fun week learning about food safety and science! Linda has been teaching kids about food safety and science for over 30 years. Thanks for all of the hard work, Linda!

U of Missouri Extension Fights BAC with Backpacks

April 26, 2015

Friday Backpack program reaches 19,400 students weekly

Missouri children are getting the nutrition and food safety information they need thanks to the BAC Fighters at University of Missouri Extension. Creative programs help make sure kids are eating well, living healthy lifestyles, and forming food safety habits with the help of Fight BAC!® materials.

Through their Friday Backpack program, more than 19,000 children statewide receive ready to eat foods from their local food bank every Friday. The University of Missouri Extension supplements the program by providing educational materials like kid-friendly recipe cards, activity sheets, and Fight BAC stickers.

In the Show ME Nutrition Curriculum, 150 Nutrition Educators teach kids from Kindergarten through Junior High the facts on healthy eating and food safety. The educators reach kids in many settings including schools, food stores, and libraries. They extend the learning to parents and caregivers by giving kids newsletters and handouts to take home and share. Healthy eating and food safety go hand in hand for whole health!
Thank you to the BAC Fighters at University of Missouri Extension!

PFSE Staff Spoils BAC’s Summer Plans

April 26, 2015

Community event prepares a squad of junior BAC Fighters for summer

“Do you know what a germ is?”

That’s what we asked kids when they approached the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s table at the Koshland Science Museum on May 10^th, 2014. In “kidspeak” there is no standard definition for germ, but we were still impressed with their answers:

“Something that makes you sick!”

“It makes you throw up!”

“You can stay home from school!”

It was clear that they got the basic concept – germs can make you sick!

What they weren’t so clear on is how a germ can get into your body and make you sick. That’s where we stepped in to explain the basics of hand hygiene and safe food handling.

We showed them just how germy their hands were with a GloGerm demonstration and taught them the basics of clean, separate, cook, and chill using the BAC Drop Spring Story Contest and Perfect Picnic for iOS.

The kids were amazed at the ways a little germ they can’t see, smell, or taste might make sick. They left the event ready (and excited) to Fight BAC! with materials we gave them!

– Ashley Bell, Your B.F.F. (BAC Fighter Friend)