Handwashing
Wash your hands! Anytime you will be handling food, switch types
of food you are handling (meat to produce for example), touch your
mouth or nose (this includes smoking, eating and sneezing) or return
to handling food from another activity, you should thoroughly wash
your hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water. Pay close attention
to your wrists and under your fingernails, so that love, not bacteria,
is the special ingredient in the food you prepare! According to
the Center for Science In the Public Interest, foodborne illness
results in 5,000 deaths and 76 million illnesses per year in the
United States. Food safety, from the production of food all the
way to the kitchen at a restaurant, school, home or community organization,
is imperative. By following basic steps, such as adequate hand washing
and keeping hot foods hot, the likelihood of foodborne illness is
greatly reduced.
Community based organizations involved in the distribution of food,
such as food closets or Meals on Wheels, often serve the people
most susceptible to foodborne illness: the elderly, young children,
pregnant women and their fetuses and the immuno-compromised. Adequate
training for staff and volunteers is a must. In 2002, the Hunger
Commission twice sponsored a free eight-hour Serve Safe class for
these types of organizations. Pending the results of an exam given
in the class, individuals were then certified in food safety in
the state of California by the California Restaurant Association.
Hunger Commission member Nancy Magana-Alexander, from the Sacramento
County Unified School District, donated her time as an instructor.
Contact us for more information.
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Food Safety Links
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