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Month: February 2021

Delivered Foods and Food Safety

Food takeoutOne of the ways consumers have survived being at home is having food delivered. In fact, from November 31, 2019-November 31-2020, online grocery and restaurant sales increased 125 percent. There has been no link to food as a cause of COVID-19 illnesses. But, all of these services still require safe food handling practices.

The Partnership for Food Safety Education conducted a survey of consumers who used food delivery services and how they handled those foods once they were delivered. They surveyed 657 consumers about their food handling practices for delivered meal kits, grocery items and prepared foods.

Results showed the following:

  • 38% washed their hands for 20 seconds
  • 56% sanitized food packages with the following methods
  • 44% with alcohol or antibacterial wipes
  • 6% with hand sanitizer
  • 5% with soap and water
  • 4% with bleach
  • 1% with water

What do these results mean? Food safety practices can always improve through behavior change. Increased handwashing helps reduce many food safety risks. Handwashing before and after handling food and food packaging will further reduce food safety risks. Care should be taken to not allow soap, sanitizer or bleach absorb through packaging or touch food.

 

Consumer Food Safety Education Conference

Partnership for Food Safety EducationIn light of the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Partnership for Food Safety Education 2021 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference will be an all virtual event March 9-12, 2021.

This conference brings together health and food safety educators with federal agencies and food businesses to help build education and programming for consumer food safety education.

Registration is now $129. See the CFSEC event website for details and registration.

 

Update on the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Food Preservation
Photo: USDA Flickr

The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), at the University of Georgia, has been a longtime trusted resource for home food preservers across the U.S. and beyond. Dr. Elizabeth Andress, the founder, retired in December 2020 and we wish her well.

The University of Georgia has announced that the NCHFP will continue under new leadership. A team of four Extension agents led by Dr. Tracey Brigman will continue to support the program. Dr. Brigman will serve in an interim coordinator role until July 2022.

The resources at the NCHFP became increasingly important in the last year due to COVID-19 as many consumers decided to learn or do more food preservation at home. This led to a great demand for science-based information to educate consumers the safe methods to preserve food.

To learn more about the NCHFP transition, read the University of Georgia news release. For additional information about home food preservation, see the KSRE Preserve it Fresh, Preserve it Safe website.

 

Choosing Food Preservation Resources

Salsa
Source: KSRE Food Preservation

There are a wide range of food preservation resources to provide home food preservation guidance. The question is, which resources will consumers choose?

Recently, one popular magazine put out a video on canning a shrimp product. Unfortunately, they showed the product being processed in a water bath canner instead of a pressure canner because they wanted to film the jars inside the canner. This sent the wrong message to consumers and they subsequently deleted that video.

Choose wisely. Use science-based resources such as the KSRE Preserve it Fresh, Preserve it Safe website.

 

Safe Recipe Activity for Middle Schools

Safe Recipe Style guide
Research shows that when recipes contain food safety instructions, consumers are more likely to follow those instructions.

Germs are invisible, they’re everywhere, and some can make you very sick. Germs can be in your food, on your hands, or even on kitchen utensils, cutting boards and counter tops. Luckily, there are steps you can take when you’re preparing food that lower your risk of getting a foodborne illness.

One easy way to remember these steps is to use a safe recipe while preparing food. Safe recipes include food safety steps, like washing your hands, that lower the risk of getting sick from harmful germs.

The Safe Recipe Activity targets middle school students and takes about 30 minutes to complete. It will teach you how to use the Safe Recipe Style Guide to turn a basic recipe into a safe recipe.

 

Meet George Crum—Inventor of Potato Chips

Potato chips
Photo: USDA Flickr

During the month of February, we celebrated Black History month. There are several Black scientists that contributed to the food industry and food science. One of those people was George Crum, who invented potato chips by accident!

George Crum, who was born as George Speck in 1824, grew up in Saratoga Springs, NY. He became a chef at the Saratoga Springs Moon Lake Lodge resort. A customer ordered French fries, but thought they were too thick and salty. So Chef Crum started over. He sliced potatoes very thin and fried them until hard and crunchy. As the saying goes, “the customer is always right” and the potato chip was born. Some say Chef Crum’s sister Kate, who worked as a prep cook, also played a role in this crunchy invention.

Chef Crum went on to open his own restaurant, called Crum’s House, and his crunchy potato chips were a staple on every table.

Source: IFT Brain Food: The Official IFT Blog

 

National Nutrition Month® 2021

March is once again designated National Nutrition Month® sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The theme this year is “Personalize Your Plate.”

There is no one size fits all approach to a healthy eating plan. The weekly messages include:

  • Eat a nutritious variety of food daily.
  • Create a weekly meal plan.
  • Create tasty meals by learning new skills.
  • Consult a dietician for expert advice.

How will you “Personalize Your Plate?”

National Nutrition Month® has been promoting nutrition since 1973.

 

What to do with Runny Jam or Jelly

Fruit leather
Photo: NCHFP

Sometimes, is spite of best effort, the result of making a tasty jam or jelly is a runny mess. While it may be possible to remake runny jam or jelly, it may not be worth the effort. Just don’t waste it!

Runny jam or jelly can be used for pancake/waffle syrup or ice cream topping. Add it to a fruit smoothie along with extra fruit. How about making it into fruit leather? If you have a food dehydrator, this makes it easier to do. But it can be done in the oven. For jam, it is best to puree it in a food processor or blender to get a smooth product and it is easier to dry. For both jam and jelly, add some extra fruit for more flavor.

Information on making fruit leather from Washington State University gives good guidance on this project for all ages.

Source: University of California Cooperative Extension, El Dorado county

 

Kansas Nutrition Council Conference

Kansas Nutrition Council

The 2021 Kansas Nutrition Council (KNC) Conference will be held on April 22, 2021 in virtual format. Registration for the conference includes membership dues. CEU’s will be available. Sessions will be recorded and available until May 7, 2021.

See the conference registration website for scheduled speakers and conference times. Let KNC help you plant ideas for the future!

 

Prepping for Walk Kansas!

vacuumSpring will come, at least according to the calendar! And with that, it’s time for Walk Kansas. Here are some creative ways to get active now.

  • Speed clean your house. Do leg lunges while vacuuming.
  • Walk laps inside your house when its icy outside. Don’t ignore those stairs to get more steps in and get your heart pumping.
  • Grab a couple cans of beans to do arm curls. Add weight by using a couple jugs of water.
  • During online meetings or phone calls, stand up or walk around to keep moving.

Get creative and get ready for Walk Kansas!

Source: Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, January 2021