What are food safety, foodborne illness, and foodborne illness outbreak? What are the causes and symptoms?
 Food safety is awareness, activities, and behaviors that prevent foodborne illness. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Fight BAC! Campaign is a valuable tool to explain the four principles of food safety. A variety of tools, resources and educational materials are available to support a food safety campaign. Whether you are educating consumers in the super-market, teaching children at a community fair or conducting a lesson for a scout troop there are materials available to help you teach your audience how to Fight BAC! These materials are easily accessible and downloadable for your immediate use. There is no charge for the materials. In addition to the free materials, please visit the BAC! store. There are a variety of materials available at cost that add interest and appeal to upcoming educational opportunities.
Foodborne illness is disease carried or transmitted to people by food.
Foodborne illness outbreak is an incident in which two or more persons have the same disease, have similar clinical features, or have the same pathogen, and there is a time, place, or person association among these persons that is traceable to ingestion of a contaminated food.
Causes of foodborne illness:
There are three main types of causes of foodborne illness:
- Biological hazards:
- viruses
- bacteria
- toxins
- parasites
- Chemical hazards:
- pesticides
- preservatives
- cleaning supplies
- toxic metals
- Physical hazards:
- foreign objects (e.g., hair, glass, staples) that contaminate food accidentally
- naturally occurring objects (e.g., bones, leaves or stems)
Usual Symptoms of foodborne illness:
The typical symptoms of foodborne illness are:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Stomach Cramps
- Headache
- Fever
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Why should I care about Food Safety in schools?
- Young children are in the high risk population for foodborne illness as well as, the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals.
- Approximately 1/3 of the U.S. population attends, works for, or has children in schools (ACS, 1998).
- Most students and staff eat meals and snacks at school every day.
- Two-thirds of U.S. food counter and fountain workers are between the ages of 16-19 years old (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPS 1998).
- "Keep Food Safe to Eat" is one of the 10 recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.
- Congress appointed three GAO Committees to investigate and make recommendations on school food safety.
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What are Rhode Island's state requirements for Food Safety in schools?
Food Safety Inspections
Sec. 111 of the federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (PL 108-265) requires two inspections for each school food authority (i.e. school district) each year. In Rhode Island, the Department of Health has authorized the use of approved third party inspectors to complete the inspections. Costs for inspections are the responsibility of the local school food authority. The most recent inspection must be posted at each school.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
Sec. 111 of this same federal law also requires that each school food authority have a customized school food safety program based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.
Food Safety Certification
At least one person in the school food service program must be certified as a manager in food safety, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Certification of Managers in Food Safety (R21-27-CFS).
Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies
New legislation, RI 2008 Public Laws, Chapters 08-086 & 08-090, has changed the Rhode Island peanut/tree nut allergy law. Schools districts are now required to develop food allergy policies and schools are now required to develop Individual Health Care Plans and Emergency Health Care Plans for students with peanut/tree nut allergies with potentially severe health consequences.
To provide some guidance on implementing the new law, Deputy Commissioner of Education, David V. Abbott, has disseminated a guidance memo (August 26, 2008) about implementation of this law. That and other guidance and informational materials can be found on the Health Services page. They can also download as a single file, RI Peanut Allergy Law Guidance Documents.
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What data are available about Food Safety in Rhode Island schools?
Quick Facts
- In the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne pathogens cause:
- 76 million illnesses per year
- 325,000 hospitalizations per year
- 5,000 deaths/year
- an estimated annual cost of $5 billion
Mead, P.S., et al. 1999. Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 5(5)
More Data
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What is the National Coalition for Food Safe Schools?
The National Coalition for Food Safe Schools
Over 40 Industry, Government, Non-Government and Non-Profit Groups have joined forces to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks with a coalition of food safety experts!
In Rhode Island, the Food Safety Partnership Team oversees the project. Departments of Education and Health, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, and Kids First have common goals to increase the awareness of food safety, decrease the incidence of foodborne illness, and support the national school food safety efforts. Members of the team include: Marti Breau and Dorothy Brayley from Kids First 401-751-4503, Tom Nerney 401-222-7717 and Ernie Julian 401-222-2749 from the RI Department of Health, Midge Sabatini 401-222-8952 from the RI Department of Education, Lori Pivarnik 401-874-2972 and Martha Patnoad 401-874-2960 from University of Rhode Island,
and Elizabeth Bugden 603-625-2606 a food safety consultant.
In the 2007-08 school year, there were 75 Food-Safe Schools in Rhode Island. All Rhode Island public schools have a copy of the Food-Safe School Action Guide. Team members have incorporated
the food safety practices into their wellness policies quite effectively. Contact Marti at Kids First (401-751-4503) for a copy.
The CDC has provided funding for the food-safe school project since August of 2000 as a component priority area in the Coordinated School Health Cooperative Agreement. Rhode Island works with other CDC funded partners to increase the awareness of food safety and decrease the incidence of foodborne illness throughout the United States. Funded partners include NEHA (National Environmental Health Association), SNA (the School Nutrition Association), ANF (The American Nurses Foundation), and NSBA (The National School Boards Association).
Rhode Island is the state that researched, named, and pilot tested the Food-Safe School program. Rhode Island has the first in the nation Food-Safe Schools, a reason to celebrate! Joseph Jenks Jr. High School in Pawtucket, RI, the first food-safe school in the nation, is featured in the Food-Safe School Action Guide Toolkit movie: How to Become a Food-Safe School. Our schools realize the opportunity to reduce the risks of foodborne illness by following the 4C’s of food safety: Clean, Chill, Cook, prevent Cross-Contamination.
Other states have followed our lead. Now there are Food-Safe Schools in every state. School nurses from 24 other states have participated in train-the-trainer workshops to bring the news to their state.
A Food-Safe School has administrators, staff, teaches, students, and parents who know and practice key principles of food safety when purchasing, preparing, storing, and eating food. Whether foods are prepared and served in the cafeteria, brown-bagged from home, purchased from vending machines, or served at any school event, they can cause illness if not handled properly. Proper handling reduces the risk of someone getting sick (foodborne illness) by preventing or slowing the growth of harmful microorganisms.
These are the people and resources for your school to become a food-safe school.
Do you want to prevent foodborne illnesses? Please consider becoming the team leader.
The Food-Safe School program deals with food at any school-sponsored eating event:
Each school uses the Food-Safe School Action Guide Toolkit to make their school a food-safe school; the toolkit is available from Kids First at (401) 751-4503, or you can e-mail Marti Breau. All the information in the toolkit is downloadable from the Food-Safe School website.
 Through the RI Coordinated School Health Program, professional development workshops (2 to 4 hours) that teach the principles of food safety were available, although funding for this has since ended. They used the demonstration style of learning, a workshop leader demonstrated the principles and each workshop guest participated in hands-on activities that reinforce the principles. The activities could be used in the classroom, at PTA/PTO meetings, or at staff meetings. One of the principles is the Danger Zone, depicted using this thermometer. Microorganisms grow quickly in the Danger Zone, 40F – 140F. It is important to keep food out of the danger zone to prevent the growth of microorganisms.
Concepts to remember are:
Keep cold foods cold!! Keep hot foods hot!!
Teachers are provided with resource materials for their classrooms that include Food Safety Fact Sheets (How to Pack a Safe Lunch, How to Prepare Safe Holiday Meals, How to Grill Safely, Bake Sale Food Safety, Field Trip Food Safety) and Food Safety Lesson Plans (developed by noted educator Dr. Alice McCarthy Bridge Communications, Michigan). Fact Sheets and Lesson Plans can be downloaded from the Kids First website.
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Where can I learn more?
thrive report
The November '07 thrive report focuses on Food Safety.
National Coalition for Food-Safe Schools
This site has the Food Safe Schools Action Guide, with tools and resources for administrators, team leaders, school nurses, health departments, school foodservice, teachers, cooperative extension, families, and students.
Fight Bac!®
Keep Food Safe from Bacteria
The Fight BAC!® campaign, developed in conjunction with the President's National Food Safety Initiative, is a far-reaching, ambitious and consumer-friendly public education campaign focused on safe food handling. Our goal is to educate consumers on four simple steps they can take to fight foodborne bacteria and reduce their risk of foodborne illness.
Thermy™
Learn why Thermy™ says, "It's Safe to Bite When the Temperature is Right!"
The Thermy™ campaign is a national consumer education initiative developed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
This national consumer education campaign is designed to promote food thermometer use. Supporting the Fight BAC!® message of "cook," this campaign is based on studies showing significant risk for foodborne illness when color is used to judge when food has been cooked to a safe temperature.s
Please visit these National Coalition For Food-Safe Schools partner links to learn more about food safety and on-going coalition partner efforts!
Food and Drug Administration
- www.foodsafety.gov - Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
Provides detailed information and links on a wide range of food safety topics.
- Food Safety Programs
National Environmental Health Association provides information on the Epi-Ready Team Training and on NEHA's involvement with the Food-Safe Schools program.
- Safe Tables Our Priority
Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) is a non-profit grassroots organization devoted to victim assistance, public education, and policy advocacy for safe food and public health. S.T.O.P.'s mission is to prevent unnecessary illness and loss of life from pathogenic foodborne illness.
- Food Safety Page
The School Nutrition Association (formerly American School Food Service Association) is a national, nonprofit professional organization representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. The Association works to ensure all children have access to healthful school meals and nutrition education.
- Food Safety
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), formerly known as the Food and Consumer Service, administers the nutrition assistance programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The mission of FNS is to provide children and needy families better access to food and a more healthful diet through its food assistance programs and comprehensive nutrition education efforts. FNS has elevated nutrition and nutrition education to a top priority in all its programs. In addition to providing access to nutritious food, FNS also works to empower program participants with knowledge of the link between diet and health.
- Diagnosis and Management of Foodborne Illness:
A Primer for Physicians and other Health Care Professionals
The primer by the American Nurse Association/American Nurse Foundation provides health care professionals with current and accurate information for the diagnosis, treatment and reporting of foodborne illnesses, and with patient education materials on prevention of foodborne illness.
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Whom do I contact for more information?
Marti Breau
RI School Food Safety Specialist
Kids First
401-751-4503
mbreau@kidsfirstri.org
Midge Sabatini, Ed.D.
Manager, Coordinated School Health Program
RI Dept. of Education
401-222-8952
Midge.Sabatini@ride.ri.gov
Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, Ed.D.
Program Manager, Initiative for Healthy Youth
Rhode Island Department of Health
401-222-5922
Rosemary.Reilly-Chammat@health.ri.gov
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