Partnership for Food Safety Education

FightBAC!

Safe Kids Day

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Dr. Beth Canfield-Simbro Teaches Food Safety to Kids and Parents

Dr. Beth Canfield-Simbro, an Associate Professor of Public Health & Health Education at the University of Mount Union, used Fight BAC!® materials at Safe Kids Day. The University partnered with the Stark County, Ohio Health Department and many other community organizations to host this family event, aimed at providing safety tips of all kinds. Over 170 children attended this years’ fair. Beth taught food safety to kids and their parents using an interactive display with small refrigerator and a bunch of plastic foods. Children loved guessing which foods had to go in the fridge, and which could stay out safely. Beth also gave away cooking temperature magnets to help families Fight BAC at home after Safe Kids Day was over.

Teaching Food Safety in the Classroom

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TRACY AJELLO WAS AN AUTHOR OF THE ORIGINAL FIGHT BAC! MATERIALS

“Raise your hand if you have leftovers in your fridge” says Tracy Ajello, a 5th grade teacher at Doolittle School in Cheshire, Connecticut. Hands shoot up in the air. Tracy often starts her lessons with a question to help her students make the connection between her food safety lessons and life at home. At school cookouts, Tracy shows children how to properly use a food thermometer – most have never seen a food thermometer and are quick to tattle-tail on their parents.

A veteran BAC! Fighter, Tracy was an author of some of the original Fight BAC!® experiments, activities, and assessments. She was also one of the two teacher authors to present the new Fight BAC!® program for the first time at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference. Tracy still uses Fight BAC!® materials because she believes it to be important to teach children about healthy living, and, too often, food safety is overlooked. Tracy finds such great joy out of seeing her experiments, activities, and assessments still being used.

 

Jazmin Nuno of the San Ysidro Health Center

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Cooking for a Healthy Lifestyle Program Teaches Food Safety to Adults

Jazmin Nuno is a Health Educator for the Cooking for a Healthy Lifestyle Program at San Ysidro Health Center in San Diego, California. The San Ysidro Health Center (SYHC) is a non-profit community health center, dedicated and committed to improving the health and well-being of underserved communities In the Central and South Region of San Diego. Jazmin oversees the cooking class program, which promotes food safety and encourages healthy eating habits in adults. The first class is dedicated to preventing foodborne illness. She loves using the Fight BAC!® produce brochure because it’s very easy for her students to understand and use at home. She also teaches the correct temperatures and food thermometer use in her two classes per week, which have 4-7 adults in them.

National Turkey Federation: Safely Enjoy Poultry on the Grill

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The Partnership for Food Safety Education collaborated with the National Turkey Federation (NTF) on an e-card reminding consumers and food safety educators about safely enjoying poultry products on the grill. The e-card went out to more than 13,000 BAC Fighters (food safety educators) on June 12, 2012. BAC Fighters were lead to several resources for teaching, including a video and a webpage on safe summer grilling, and were reminded to always cook poultry products to 165 °F.  NTF, a long-time supporter and partner, sponsored the e-card.  Have a safe, tasty summer grilling season while Fighting BAC!® 

Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, former USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety

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Dr. Elisabeth Hagen is the former Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA. She oversees policies and programs at the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Prior to her appointment as Under Secretary in August 2010, she served as USDA’s Chief Medical Officer, advising on a range of issues such as food safety, nutrition, and zoonotic diseases.

To me, there is no more fundamental function of government than to keep its people safe from harm. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, my job in the Office of Food Safety is to protect the health of more than 300 million Americans through a strong food safety system. I have been personally charged by Secretary Vilsack to look at every possible way to reduce foodborne illness and I am looking forward to working with all of you in executing this critical mission.

Prevention has to be the foundation of everything we do. With that as a foundation, we need to activate the most powerful tools at our disposal, including quality data. We also need to engage and involve people because they are the reason all of this matters.

USDA is committed to a proactive approach to food safety. We are building on the tools we have, and identifying additional ones we need to protect consumers. This includes quick, accurate information around recalls and outbreaks. It also means educating consumers about safe food handling.

People hear stories of foodborne illness, and the next question is always “What can I do? What steps can I do to decrease the risk for my family?” As a mom, I’m always looking for information that will empower me to keep my kids healthy, safe, and happy. When I was in private practice, my patients were always seeking similar information about steps they could take to reduce the risk of preventable diseases. USDA’s food safety education programs, hotlines, online databases, and consumer outreach materials are all aimed at helping consumers handle and prepare food safely. Last year we reached more than 4 million consumers with our safe handling and public health messages, through traditional and new media.

We have a terrific opportunity to reach many more Americans on the topic of safe food handling and good health through a new partnership with the Ad Council. Through the partnership, we will produce a multi-media, bilingual, national public service ad campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of foodborne illnesses and to get people to consistently practice safe food handling at home. We are working with many of you on this Ad Council campaign and I’m very hopeful it will be a great success through your efforts to connect with consumers: where they live, work, and where they shop for food.

A foodborne illness can cause irreparable harm. The impact of a serious foodborne illness is felt beyond its immediate impact in terms of higher health care costs and lost wages. As a medical doctor, I’ve seen the impact of foodborne illness first-hand. I’m reminded of it every time I sit across the table from someone who lost their son or daughter to E. coli O157:H7.

A single pathogen can leave a lot of damage in its wake. The cost of foodborne illness is just too high—especially when you consider that it is preventable. I look forward to working with you as a partner in doing everything we can, together, to prevent foodborne illness.