Partnership for Food Safety Education

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Nigeria Based Food Safety Consultants Upholds Food Safety Standards

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Whesu Oluwakemi is a Project Coordinator at Food Safety Consultants, located in Lagos, Nigeria. They are a food industry consulting company that ensures food hygiene and safety standards are strictly adhered to.

Food Safety Consultants organized a public awareness forum where stakeholders come together to make sure food safety standards are upheld. They also organize training for food handlers, like caterers, to make sure they’re able to meet food safety and hygiene standards.

Food Safety Consultants believes that food safety cannot be ignored!

 

Yours for Children Inc. Supports Massachusetts Child Care Providers

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Child care providers have a lot on their plates. In the ever- important field of caring for children, there’s always something else to learn! Yours for Children Inc. (YFCI) is dedicated to providing Massachusetts family child care providers with the skills and resources they need to keep their charges safe and healthy. Participating in the Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) is free for family child care providers and along with education, providers get monthly reimbursements funded through the USDA for healthy meals served.

We caught up with Nancy Casten, a Nutrition Education Coordinator/Training Specialist at YFCI to find out how food safety education fit into their host of offerings. Nancy herself is often surprised at how little people know about food safety, so she realizes the depth of its importance for training child care providers.

YFCI presents a food safety training every year that culminates with a home study quiz to ensure the providers have a good understanding of the material. The organization encourages followers to share what they learn to amplify the number of people reached through the messages. Through the power of sharing, 1,000 providers could reach several thousand households with food safety information.

In addition to this training and quiz, YFCI does a newsletter to keep providers up to date between trainings.

At the Partnership for Food Safety Education, we also believe strongly in the power of sharing. This story is a good reminder that by sharing messages and working together, we can achieve a food safe America.

 

Marsha Lockard, NEAFCS President

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I was honored to represent the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) at the Partnership for Food Safety Education summit in Chicago the first part of March. The summit was a wonderful opportunity to network with other professionals who are engaged in food safety education.

As the president of NEAFCS, I represent over 2,000 extension educators throughout the United States who are actively engaged in consumer education. Food safety education has always been a priority for Extension, and as employees of the national land grant universities our mission is provide up to date researched based information to consumers.

As a national association, we compile the impact of our educators programming nationwide and have been consolidating that data into national impact statements that illustrate the breath of our educational efforts. Below are some highlights from a sample of the current programs sponsored by Extension:

Food Handler Education Program – ServSafe food safety training and certification program

Pennsylvania – 1,863 individuals certified for operation of their food service establishment.
Indiana – educators trained over 3,000 individuals who work in the food retail industry, assisting them to obtain certification as safe food handlers
Consumer Food Safety – Extension provides research-based information regarding food safety and storage through response to consumer inquiries

Ohio – 400 gardeners attended a one day workshop on increasing their knowledge of safe food practices
Nebraska – 125 participants attended “Bite When the Temperature is Right” learning how to calibrate a thermometer and use it when cooking meat and poultry
Cooking for Crowds –

Pennsylvania – trained volunteers from non-profit organization who serve meals to over 300,000 customers in a 3 month period, proper food safety practices
Hand Washing Education –

Idaho – basic hand washing taught to the hundreds of international athletes at the World Special Olympics, through use of “Germ City” an interactive program
Food Preservation and Canning –

Mississippi – educators teach “Basic Hazard Critical Control Points” training
South Dakota – following completion of food preservation workshops 88% of the participants adopted critical safe food handling practices
These are just a few examples of the educational effort of NEAFCS Extension Educators. If you would like to view our impact pieces please visit our website at www.neafcs.org. NEAFCS is very excited to be a part of the Partnership for Food Safety Education and we look forward to assisting in the efforts to educate consumer on the importance of safe food handling practices to reduce food borne illness.