========================================================================= Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:34:17 EDT Reply-To: EdNet@FOODSAFETY.GOV Sender: National Food Safety Educator's Network From: EDNET@FOODSAFETY.GOV Organization: National Food Safety Educator's Network Subject: Ednet Update June 2001 * * * * National Food Safety Educator's Network * * * * * * * * EdNet-L@foodsafety.gov * * * * EdNet is an electronic newsletter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), providing updates on food safety activities to educators and others concerned about food safety. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FIGHT BAC!(TM) RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS NEWS FROM THE USDA/FDA FOODBORNE ILLNESS EDUCATION INFORMATION CENTER SYMPOSIUM PEOPLE IN THE NEWS FEEDBACK SUBSCRIBE FIGHT BAC!(TM) Partnership for Food Safety Education Update 2001 USDA Honor Awards The Partnership for Food Safety Education received a USDA Group Honor Award presented by Secretary Ann Veneman "for significant accomplishments in creating and developing a unique public/private partnership that represents an unprecedented effort to teach consumers about food safety." http://www.fightbac.org/press/index.cfm Fightbac.org Gets a New Look! The Partnership for Food Safety Education launched their new Web site in May! Take a look and find a crisp, clean, new homepage that's easier to navigate and boasts several new areas to explore. For example, the "Educator" section will feature direct links to the Fight BAC!(TM) curriculum as well as other organizations that have similar goals, fun pages for kids and more. Searchable Food Safety Education Activities Database-You're invited! The "It's Working" section will feature a Searchable Food Safety Education Activities Database that the USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center and the Partnership for Food Safety Education are building. The database will contain contact information, target audience, number of people reached, cost, materials used, story, results, etc. about various food safety education projects or activities educators have conducted. This will be a perfect opportunity to showcase any food safety projects or activities implemented at local and national levels. AN INVITATION TO BUILD! You are invited to help build the database! The database data entry feature will be "open for business" on July 9th. Here's your opportunity to report on all food safety education projects-Fight BAC!(TM), Thermy!(TM), National Food Safety Education Month (SM), and others! The Partnership, USDA and FDA are asking all educators to provide data to build the searchable feature. We hope to have enough data to announce the searchable feature on October 15th. You can access the contributor's data entry form either through the Fight BAC!(TM) Web site or through the Foodborne Illness Education Information Center's Web site: http://www.fightbac.org http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodborne Please visit the new Fight BAC! Web site, come back often, and let the Partnership for Food Safety Education hear what you are doing to Fight BAC!(TM) E-Mail: fightbaced@mindspring.com http://www.fightbac.org New Partners The Partnership for Food Safety Education welcomed three new members in May; the National Food Processor's Association, the Food Temperature Indicator Association and the National Fisheries Institute. http://www.fightbac.org "Safety Tips: Flood Clean-up" The Partnership for Food Safety Education recommends several steps to take in the kitchen when cleaning up after a flood to avoid foodborne illnesses: http://www.fightbac.org/safety_tips.cfm RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS FDA Corrects Erroneous Media Reports on Egg Safety Guidelines Sunny-Side Up and Over Easy Eggs Can Still Be Served at Restaurants. Contrary to some mistaken recent media reports, the 1999 FDA Food Code does NOT prohibit restaurants from serving sunny-side-up or over-easy eggs. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2001/NEW00764.html "Norwalk-Like Viruses - Public Health Consequences and Outbreak Management" MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), June 01, 2001 / 50(RR09);1-18 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5009a1.htm Overview of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Food Safety Programs and Activities http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/fsactivities.htm "CDC involvement in investigating adverse health effects associated with eating corn products potentially contaminated with the Cry9C Protein in StarLink(TM) corn" (CDC Backgrounder) http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r010613a.htm Product Liability and Microbial Foodborne Illness This report examines how product liability law treats personal injuries attributed to microbially contaminated foods. The risk of lawsuits stemming from microbial foodborne illness and the compensation may create economic incentives for firms to produce safer food.resulting court-awarded http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer799/ FDA One-Page Fact Sheets Now Available The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed a series of one-page Fact Sheets summarizing their various activities including those involving food safety. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/factsheets/justthefacts. "Basics for Handling Food Safely" FSIS updated the popular publication: "Basics for Handling Food Safely." Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to prevent foodborne illness. The Spanish version will be available soon. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/facts_basics.htm "Focus on Parasites and Foodborne Illness" Parasites may be present in food or in water and can cause disease. Ranging in size from tiny, single-celled organisms to worms visible to the naked eye, parasites are more and more frequently being identified as causes of foodborne illness in the United States. The illnesses they can cause range from mild discomfort to debilitating illness and possibly death. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/parasite.htm "FSIS Promotes Independence from Foodborne Illness" Fourth of July picnics and gatherings must be kept safe from interlopers such as bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause foodborne illness. Being ill in summer -- the optimum time for outdoor freedom -- is no picnic; yet, year after year, foodborne illnesses increase during the summer. There are reasons why this happens and ways to ensure picnic food safety. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/2001/july4.htm "Redesigned Slaughter Inspection System Improves Food Safety" The Food Safety and Inspection Service recently announced that the revised design of its HACCP-based inspection models project continues to produce results showing dramatic improvements in food safety and other consumer protections, according to FSIS verification data now available for young chickens. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/2001/himpdata0607.htm EdNet to go to APHA's (American Public Health Association) 129th Annual Meeting in October! An abstract entitled: "International Electronic Newsletter Offering Convenience to Nutrition and Food Safety Educators" was accepted for poster presentation and will be included in the following session at the meeting: "Harnessing Creativity and Technology for Nutrition Education," scheduled for Monday, October 22, 2001, Atlanta, GA. http://apha.confex.com/apha/129am/techprogram/meeting_129am.htm How to Reference Archived EdNet Issues EdNet subscribers or interested readers can access all EdNet issues archived since October, 1997 from the Web site: http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/ednet.html THERMY(TM) How Thermy(TM) plans to spend his summer vacation! Thermy's(TM) message is being spread to consumers through state and local agricultural fairs, health fairs, parades, conventions, and food safety training workshops and seminars. Take a look at the wide variety of destinations nationwide...there is interest from all over...Most of the Thermy(TM) costume and publication requests have been generated by EdNet subscribers and callers to the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline! Thermy's(TM) summer schedule: * June 11-25 Thermy(TM) will visit Buehler's Food Markets to help celebrate a grand opening in Ashland, Ohio. * June 28-July 5 Thermy(TM) will spend the Fourth of July celebrating summer food safety by promoting the use of food thermometers at Albertson's Grocery Store in Oakland, CA. * July 15-18 Thermy(TM) will accompany FSIS to the American School Food Service Association Annual Meeting at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. School food service district directors, managers, state agency food service staff-including cooks and front line supervisors will be able to shake hands with Thermy(TM). * July 17-22 Thermy(TM) will travel to Saratoga, NY's County Fair, sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension. * August 14 Thermy(TM) packs his trunk for the Midwest to attend the Illinois State Fair, sponsored by the University of Southern Illinois. * August 15 Thermy(TM) heads to the "Bluegrass State" to attend the Kentucky State Fair, sponsored by the Kentucky Dept. for Public Health. Make a reservation for Thermy(TM) to attend your upcoming event! fsis.outreach@usda.gov Visit the Thermy(TM) Web pages at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Thermy NEWS FROM THE USDA/FDA FOODBORNE ILLNESS EDUCATION INFORMATION CENTER How do you say food safety in Chinese? Check out the Web sites below for food safety teaching materials in languages other than English. The site for U.S. federal, state, and local food safety materials has a foreign language section with documents in Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. This includes education materials from the Partnership for Food Safety Education, the FDA Bad Bug Book, and more. http://www.foodsafety.gov/~fsg/fsglang.html The Integrated Food Safety Information Delivery System by the Iowa Dept. of Inspections and Appeals and IOWAccess provides fact sheets and signs for use in food establishments in French, Korean, Bosnian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese, Greek, and Russian. http://www.profoodsafety.org The above Web sites and additional sites from other countries are available on the Foodborne Illness Education Information Centers's Food Safety Index at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodborne/fbindex/index.htm Visit the Foodborne Illness Education Information Center's Web site for more food safety information. http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodborne SYMPOSIUM Central Science Laboratory, York, UK, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) U.S. Food and Drug Administration/University of Maryland (Sponsors) Second Joint Symposium on Food Safety and Nutrition: Current Issues in Food Biotechnology Date: July 11-13, 2001 Location: Inn and Conference Center University of Maryland University College 3501 University Boulevard East Adelphi, Maryland 20783 http://www.jifsan.umd.edu/Centralsci.htm PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Eric M. Bost was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and will be sworn in this June as Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. http://www.usda.gov/agencies/gallery/bost.htm Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., Named FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's Director of Food Safety Dr. Brackett will provide leadership for FDA's food safety work, overseeing all aspects of food safety across the broad range of FDA's food safety responsibilities. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2001/NEW00761.html FDA's New Lead Scientist for Epidemiology Dr. Morrie Potter, formerly Director of FDA's Food Safety Initiative, will rejoin CFSAN as Lead Scientist for Epidemiology. Dr. Potter will work closely with CDC, USDA agencies, and international organizations such as WHO and FAO to increase epidemiological and surveillance capabilities in areas such as infectious diseases, nutritional well being, and foodborne environmental contaminants. Dr. Potter will be located in Atlanta, Georgia. 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