| Partnership for Food Safety Education

Voices of BAC! Fighters

February 26, 2015

Allow us to introduce you to three BAC! Fighters who work hard to teach kids about food safety. We have been hearing from educators about their interest in new and refreshed Fight BAC!® educational material for kids.

Melissa is an enthusiastic middle school teacher from New Mexico that uses Fight BAC!® to make sure her sixth grade students are safe from foodborne illness. Her sixth grade students are like sponges, she says, and would love new materials for her students.

Devoted community nutrition educator, Denise, from Minnesota, reaches over 500 kids in 3rd to 5th grade with Fight BAC!® materials and is always interested in new, evidence-based material for her students.

Dana, a passionate educator from Texas, uses Fight BAC!® materials in middle and high school because it catches her students’ attention and would like updated materials to keep their interest.

Fight BAC!® materials for students have been in the field since 1998.

In response to demonstrated need by educators for new materials for kids, the Partnership is seeking partners for support of a new campaign in 2013- the BAC! Fighters National Youth Campaign.

Please consider making a year-end charitable contribution that supports educators like Melissa, Denise, and Dana in their efforts to end foodborne illness in America.

Mixing it up with Fight BAC!®

February 26, 2015

With over 20 years in public schools teaching food safety, Melissa Blaine still finds ways to get creative with Fight BAC!®. Melissa is a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Grant Middle School in New Mexico. Melissa has been using Fight BAC!® for years in her classrooms and she says her 6th graders love it! But she stays creative and mixes things up by adapting the Fight BAC!® handouts to challenge her kids in new ways on the four core messages: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. Melissa says that the “6th graders are enthusiastic learners and want to be in the kitchen and cook, not just to eat, but to become more independent. They can use these skills in class, at home and in the future in food service jobs”.

Thank you Melissa for the 20 years you have spent Fighting BAC!®

Rinse at your Own Risk!

February 26, 2015

BAC Fighter collaboration urges consumers to stop rinsing chicken

Dr. Jennifer Quinlan brought together a team of BAC Fighters from Drexel University and New Mexico State University to set the record straight on one hot button topic. They’re telling consumers: “Don’t Wash Your Chicken.”

To the estimated 90% of consumers still rinsing chicken, this declaration comes as a shock. Most will ask, “But why not?”

The Don’t Wash Your Chicken campaign has that question covered.

Using humorous video mini dramas, cooking demos, and photo-novellas with recipe cards, the campaign clearly conveys to consumers the reasons that they shouldn’t wash their chicken:

1) Cooking to 165° Fahrenheit kills the bacteria

2) Washing actually spreads the germs all around your kitchen

For any skeptics, the video mini dramas feature “germ-vision” overlays, giving viewers a visual of the slimy, green, germ splatters that will most likely result if they opt to rinse their poultry.

To soften the blow for many veteran rinsers, the campaign also reminds them that removing the rinse step actually makes cooking chicken easier and simpler. Changing behavior is not to so bad after all!

All of these education materialas are available and able to be downloaded at the website: http://drexel.edu/dontwashyourchicken/Videos-Photo-novellas/Overview/

Thank you Drexel University, New Mexico State University, and the USDA on this wonderful work to Fight BAC! ®