It’s almost time for schools to gear up for the year! For families that pack lunch to go, here are some tips to remember:
Learn more tips at www.fightbac.org/kidsfoodsafety/school-lunches/.
County fair season is here! It’s a great way to build community and have fun. Part of the fun at fairs is food so food safety is important to a successful event.
Petting zoos and animal exhibits can be educational and fun. The important step after handling animals is washing your hands to avoid illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2010-2015, about 100 outbreaks occurred from people handling animals at public events such as fairs. There are many types of bacteria that can spread from animals to people such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium. A clean and healthy animal can still carry harmful bacteria. Even if you don’t pet the animal, and you touch fences or other equipment, the bacteria can transfer to your hands.
Your best defense is washing your hands! Have handwashing stations available and signs reminding visitors to wash their hands. Keep food vendors away from animal areas. Food stand managers should take proactive steps to train workers about proper handwashing.
Learn more at www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/topics/4h.html.
For Kansas Extension Agents, posters can be found in Teams at KSRE Resources>Nutrition, Food Safety and Health PFT>Files entitled “4H Food Stand Signs.”
Join the North Central Region Food Safety Extension Network for Summer School for Consumer Food Safety Education! Three free webinars are targeted to Extension educators and volunteers. The dates and topics include:
June 29—Safely Donating Produce and Other Foods to Food Pantries
July 13—Summer Food Safety on the Road
July 27—Food Safety Implications of Soaked Nuts.
All webinars are from 1:00-2:00 EDT. Registration is required so sign up now!
County fair season is here! Bakers are studying their recipes to choose a favorite recipe to enter into baking competitions. If you choose a recipe containing peanut butter, that’s great! But search your pantry for any Jif brand peanut butter that has been recently recalled.
While baking and cooking food does help destroy bacteria, in the case of a recalled food, you don’t know if your product is contaminated and how much contamination may be present. The heat from baking or cooking may not kill it all. Peanut butter is popular in no-bake cookies and peanut butter icing. Because these are typically not heated or have minimal heating, this can lead to foodborne illness. You don’t want the foods judge to get sick!
The picture at left shows how to identify the recalled Jif products. For more information see the Food and Drug Administration announcement.
For a list of exact products included in the recall, see the Food and Drug Administration public service announcement.
Safer Food Handling, Better Health. That’s the theme for World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2022. The Partnership for Food Safety Education is hosting a live event to focus on safe handling of poultry.
Special guest is Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, Drexel University to speak about research on consumer handling of poultry, the “why” behind not rinsing raw poultry and meat, and how to improve food safety handling methods.
Learn more about this event on the Partnership for Food Safety Education website and take action now!
At the center of the current baby formula shortage is the contamination of baby formula linked to Cronobacter sakazakii. Illnesses from this bacteria are rare, but can lead to deaths, especially in infants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention receives reports of two to four infections in infants per year. This is likely underreported.
Cronobacter thrives in dry environments. It can live in dry foods, such as baby formula, powdered milk, herbal teas, and starches. Most states are not required to report cases, so doctors are not required to report cases of Cronobacter to health departments.
This bacteria lives naturally in the environment. Food can become contaminated with Cronobacter in several ways, such as during manufacturing, from contaminated raw materials, or contamination from the home environment. So simply laying the measuring scoop on a contaminated countertop, using contaminated water, or a contaminated bottle can lead to problems.
Source: Cronobacter and Powdered Infant Formula Investigation—CDC
Those little stickers on fresh produce may soon be replaced with high tech labels that are “printed” directly on the produce. This research is being conducted at the K-State Olathe campus in the Postharvest Physiology and Food Safety lab.
Using laser technology, the QR code is etched or engraved on to the surface of the food. Research is looking at the quality and safety of the produce and if the engraving affects produce freshness or if it causes problems with microbial contamination. They also want to see if the QR code remains readable from the time the produce is engraved to when it is used.
These stickers, called price look-up (PLU) stickers, are used to track inventory through the supply chain. These new QR codes could help trace recalled food faster and solve foodborne illness outbreaks in a timely manner.
The country of France has banned the use of noncompostable stickers on produce. Therefore, they cannot receive exported produce from the United States.
Learn more at https://www.k-state.edu/seek/spring-2022/printing-qr-code-produce/
Fair season is almost here! Here are some reminders from the Kansas Department of Agriculture for serving food safely in licensed food stands.
For 4-H food stands, see https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3472.pdf
For more information, go to www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/topics/4h.html.
The Partnership for Food Safety Education is celebrating 25 years of providing consumer food safety education.
To help celebrate, they are hosting a webinar on May 12, 2022 at Noon CST called BAC(k) to Basics.
The webinar will highlight the scientific research that informs the basic core four messages as well as the latest findings on consumer food handling habits. You’ll also see new resources and behavioral health messages to promote safe home cooking practices to consumers.
Spring is just about here which brings warmer weather as well as severe weather. If you lose power, handling food can be tricky. If you don’t have a generator, then consider these options to prepare food without power from University of Minnesota Extension.
Keep a food thermometer handy. Remember these three temperatures when cooking meats: 145° for steaks, roasts, chops; 160°F for ground meat; and 165°F for all poultry. If you have limited fuel for cooking, choose quick-cooking foods to reserve fuel.
Prepare one meal at a time so there are no leftovers. Don’t leave food sit at room temperature or in warm environments for more than two hours as this can lead to bacterial growth.
There are options to cook food. A fireplace is handy, but do not use charcoal in a fireplace as it can emit carbon monoxide. Get outdoors and use a camp stove, charcoal grill or gas grill.
Stock up on foods that do not require any cooking or refrigeration. Examples include peanut butter, canned meats, whole grain chips or crackers, fresh fruit, canned fruit, dried fruit, and many others. Don’t forget your pets! They also need nourishment in an emergency.
Handwashing is still important! Use bottled water and soap if running water is not available. Use disposable utensils and plates for easy clean up. Heat water on the outdoor grill to wash other items.
For more information on food safety during a power outage, see www.ksre.k-state.edu/foodsafety/topics/disaster.html