U.S. Food and Drug Administration - August 2001 Food Safety Progress Report Fiscal Year 2000

Education (Table of Contents) Getting the Word Out About Keeping Food Safe Food safety education efforts have reaped dramatic rewards in terms of improved consumer food safety practices in recent years, as evidenced by recent government data. According to two recent phone tracking surveys, for example, the incidence of the risky practice of eating raw foods was significantly reduced in 1998 from 1993 numbers _ down 33 percent for pink hamburger, 39 percent for raw oysters and clams, and 29 percent for raw egg-containing foods. The surveys showed similarly encouraging improvements in consumer behavior in terms of washing hands and cutting boards to prevent cross-contamination between raw and other food. Positive Change in Consumer Behavior Consumption of Raw Oysters or Clams   down 39% Consumption of Pink Hamburger   down 33% Consumption of Raw Egg-Containing Foods   down 29% Still, there's a long way to go in educating consumers about preventing foodborne illness. In an FDA-funded study conducted in FY 2000 by Utah State University, researchers placed cameras in the kitchens of 100 families and observed them preparing salad ingredients and following one of three recipes. Among these families, who tended to be confident in their food safety habits, cooks were "caught on tape" undercooking meals and making other food handling mistakes during preparation, such as improper refrigerator storage of raw meat and seafood and improper or non-existent hand-washing, countertop cleansing, and fruit and vegetable washing. The following section highlights some of CFSAN's FY 2000 efforts to educate consumers and health professionals about their roles in preventing foodborne illnesses. Food Safety Education Campaign Launched for Seniors "To Your Health! Food Safety for Seniors," an education campaign developed by FDA and USDA, became available in FY 2000. A video and companion print publication inform senior citizens about foodborne illness. The materials contain information on eating in and outside the home and address, among other topics, why some people are at greater risk for foodborne illness and how to recognize it. A comprehensive, nationwide distribution is planned for the materials. Health educators and program leaders at senior centers, state and county extension offices and health departments, area offices of aging, and national organizations representing seniors are using the materials "to provide preventive health education to a vulnerable population," says Laura Fox, CFSAN's manager for the seniors project. Food Safety Education at the Grass-Roots CFSAN, in cooperation with FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs, funded 17 grassroots food safety education projects proposed by FDA public affairs specialists. The projects emphasized at least one of the following themes: populations at severe risk from foodborne illness (young children, older adults and those with compromised immune systems); safe handling and preparation of raw shell eggs and egg dishes; the Fight BAC! campaign materials developed by FDA and the Partnership for Food Safety Education; or National Food Safety Education Month (September). One particularly well-received project was Public Affairs Specialist Ruth Weisheit's food safety training program for Chinese restaurant personnel in the Cleveland area. According to Howard Seltzer, FDA's National Food Safety Education Advisor, "Requests have been pouring in" for copies of the program, which was undertaken in partnership with the Cuyahoga, Ohio, Board of Health, the Cuyahoga Community College, Chinatown News and a Cleveland-based food service company. Combat Cross-Contamination: National Food Safety Education Month, September 2000 "Be Smart. Keep Foods Apart _ Don't Cross-Contaminate" was the theme for the sixth annual National Food Safety Education Month, sponsored by the International Food Safety Council in FY 2000. The theme focused on improper food handling, like cutting raw meat and then salad vegetables on the same cutting board without washing the cutting board in between, which can increase the risk of foodborne illness by transferring harmful bacteria to food. "It's important to focus on the issue of cross-contamination," says Howard Seltzer. "It is one of the hardest aspects of food safety for consumers to control because it requires their constant attention while preparing meals." FDA and USDA developed a Consumer Education Planning Guide for the 2000 campaign that collected ideas and tools for organizing food safety education activities for various age groups, with a "How-To" section offering suggestions for conducting the activities. The agencies distributed tens of thousands of copies to health and food safety educators across the United States and made the guides available on the federal food safety Web site, as well. Food Safety Web Site Grows by Links and Bounds The food safety Web site established in early 1999 by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, working closely with the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, grew significantly in FY 2000. The Web site, which is visited more than 40,000 times each month, had the following new sections and materials added in FY2000 with the help of Ken Durham, Special Assistant to the Director of CFSAN's Office of Constituent Operations: Other Languages section (provides links to all government food safety materials in languages other than English); Video/Audio Library (provides food safety video and audio selections that can be viewed on the Web); Frequently Asked Questions (provides links to more than 500 food safety questions and answers compiled by government agencies); Food Safety Grants and Requests for Proposals (provides links to Web sites featuring selected government food safety grant programs); State Food Safety Web Sites (contains material from state, local and extension agent Web sites); Fight BAC! Holiday Toolbox (contains resources to help food safety educators teach consumers about safe preparation and handling of holiday foods); and Fight BAC! Spring Toolbox (contains resources to help food safety professionals and others pursue effective outreach programs and educate consumers about safe food handling). Lose a Million Bacteria: An Interactive Food Safety Game CFSAN's Food Safety Initiative Staff and the Office of Constituent Operations produced an interactive game in FY 2000 called "Lose a Million Bacteria," modeled after the popular television program "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire." The object of the game is to lose a million bacteria by correctly answering five multiple-choice questions. Besides the interactive on-line game, five different printer-friendly versions were designed for use in classrooms and at meetings. Science Teachers Learn Food Safety Lessons Fifty teachers from across the United States took advantage of a food safety program co-sponsored last summer by FDA and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The professional development program, held in Washington, D.C., prepared the participants to teach food science lessons to their students using the supplementary FDA-NSTA curriculum "Science and Our Food Supply." The program was offered in two six-day sessions, one for middle school teachers and the other for high school teachers. The 50 participants were selected from more than 150 applicants, and represented 18 states and U.S. territories. The course will be held again in 2001. Teachers who take the course agree to provide similar training to other teachers in their states during the following school year. "The program prepares children for life-long safe food handling practices at home and also at food service operations, where more than half of teenagers work at some point," says Marjorie Davidson, Ph.D., FDA's National Food Safety Education Officer. "It's gratifying to think about the exponential impact this program could have. Think about how many students will learn about food science and food safety, as 50 teachers each year take what they have learned back not just to their own students, but to other teachers, as well." Says Wendell Mohling, Ph.D., NSTA's Associate Executive Director of Conventions and Professional Programs, "Our goal is to engage kids in learning science, and this topic lends itself very well to that, allowing students to learn science in a meaningful way. We bring the educators who, in turn, can take this information and deliver it in their classrooms. And we take advantage of FDA's scientists and cutting edge information to keep science teachers up-to-date on what is going on in the field of food science." Game Plan for Keeping Food Safe A new Grade 4 through 6 education kit titled "Your Game Plan for Food Safety," developed by FDA and the other members of the Partnership for Food Safety Education, became available in late 1999. The school-based program, which is free to teachers, cooperative extension agents, and others who educate students in these age groups, educates youngsters and their families about food safety and includes a teachers' guide and video, colorful classroom posters, a checklist for home food safety, and many other activities and experiments. Food Safety Video Wins International Award For its video BAC Attack! How Our School Fought BAC for Food Safety, the Partnership for Food Safety Education received a "Gold Camera Award" in June 2000. The video, part of the partnership's supplementary food safety curriculum for students in grades 4 through 6, was chosen from over 1,600 entries from 30 countries. The award was sponsored by the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, a world-renowned competition for business, television, documentary, industrial and information productions. Says Laura Fox of FDA's Food Safety Initiative Staff, who acted as advisor for the script production: "We appreciate the recognition for this video, which manages to weave critical food safety lessons into a story line to capture kids' attention." Fighting BAC! 2000 The Fight BAC! character popped up across the country in FY 2000 to spread the message on food safety. For example, in March, BAC! made a guest appearance in Buffalo, N.Y. at Pfizer Inc.'s traveling Microbe Education Show. The BAC! costume character greeted show visitors, and the Fight BAC! exhibit provided food safety educational materials. Physicians' Foodborne Illness Primer To help primary care doctors and other health professionals recognize, diagnose and treat foodborne illness, FDA in FY 2000 worked with the American Medical Association (AMA), CDC and the USDA to complete a physician/patient information kit called "Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness: A Primer for Physicians" for dissemination in early 2001. "While many foodborne illnesses, such as typhoid and cholera, have faded, new and re-emerging ones have taken their place," said AMA Trustee J. Edward Hill, M.D., at the primer's release. "We didn't even know Cyclospora, resistant Salmonella, and some strains of E. coli existed when many of today's practicing physicians were in medical school. Physicians are now hungry for good information on recognizing and treating food-related diseases. This information kit gives them the information they want and need." Next

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