EdNet (fwd)

[Laura Larsson]

Friends:

For your information. Some of you may wish to join this discussion group
on Food Safety.

Regards,

Laura Larsson
Health Services, University of Washington
listowner: PHNUTR-L, PHNURSES, PNWHEALTH, PHSW, HSR-L +
http://depts.washington.edu/hserv/hshome.html
http://depts.washington.edu/hsic/hshome.html
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. "  Alvin Toffler

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 14:40:16 -0500 
From: "McPeak, Holly" <Holly.McPeak at usda.gov>
To: 'larsson' <larsson at u.washington.edu>
Subject: EdNet

To: Larsson
Please post this issue of EdNet to the Public Health and Nutrition Group.
Should I send this request to:  listproc at u.washington.edu, instead?? 
We would like to encourage your members to subscribe, as many of them  teach
food safety concepts in their work.  Would appreciate any outreach you can
provide.  (Subscription info is below)
Thank you!
Holly McPeak
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Food Safety Education Staff
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Ph. (202)720-5836
Fax: (202)720-9063

  * * * *      National Food Safety Educator's Network      * * * *
   * * * *             EdNet-L at foodsafety.gov                * * * *

EdNet is an  electronic newsletter from the Food  and Drug Administration
(FDA), Food  Safety and  Inspection Service (FSIS),  and the  Centers for
Disease Control  and Prevention (CDC),  providing updates on  food safety
activities  to   educators  and  others  concerned   about  food  safety.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


 IN THIS ISSUE


   FIGHT BAC!(TM)
   RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS
   NEWS FROM THE USDA/FDA FOODBORNE ILLNESS EDUCATION INFORMATION CENTER
   PUBLICATIONS
   MEETINGS/CONFERENCES
   SPECIAL INTEREST
   INDUSTRY INFO
   FEEDBACK
   SUBSCRIBE




FIGHT BAC!(TM)


Fight BAC!(TM) Introduces Newly Re-designed Web Site
The Fight BAC!(TM) Web site is keeping its name and address but
changing the look and feel of its "germy" make-up.  "BAC!teria's"
online home now features a brand new layout and design.
http://www.fightbac.org

Seasonal Toolbox for Holiday Food Safety
Designed for educators, the toolbox was created to help inform
consumers about the importance of food safety during the busy holiday
season.  The contents of the toolbox include ready-to-use tips, sample
news releases, public service announcements, fact sheets on
practicing safe food handling techniques when preparing a holiday
buffet or taking care of party leftovers, how-to's for conducting food
safety demonstrations and promotions, special holiday graphics and
links to other food safety sites.  These resources can be downloaded
from the Fight BAC! Web site and individually tailored to meet the
needs of a wide variety of organizations.
http://www.fightbac.org/tools/

Fight BAC!(TM) Releases Year 2000 Food Safety Calendar
To encourage consumers to practice safe food handling techniques
throughout the year, Fight BAC!(TM) announces the release of a
specially designed Year 2000 food safety calendar.  The calendar
features different food safety themes every month along with original
artwork.  It offers 12 months of quick tips, fast facts, fun trivia,
and do's and don'ts on practicing safe food handling.  Other highlights
include handy seasonal information such as a planning guide to cooking
Thanksgiving Day turkeys, holiday party and buffet ideas, safe summer
grilling techniques and practical picnic tips.

There is only a limited supply so be sure to place orders now.  The
Year 2000 calendar is available online at the BAC! Store.
http://www.fightbac.org/store/


BACTALK - Issue 2
Take a look at the latest issue of BACTALK, the official newsletter
of the Fight BAC!(TM) campaign, distributed by the Partnership for
Food Safety Education.  There are many campaign highlights featured,
such as, partnering with McDonald's and Pfizer to get the Fight BAC!(TM)
messages out to the public.  Memphis, Tennessee first-graders
produced a PowerPoint presentation on food safety to teach others,
made posters and wrote a rap song!  Check out these and other
success stories in BACTALK!
http://www.fightbac.org/about/bactalk/bacnl101999.htm


RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS

Holiday 1999 - Seasonal Features
Below are four special features of Special Interest to Writers and
Food Handlers from the USDA/FSIS Meat and Poultry Hotline.  Feel free to
share this information in your newsletters or with your local media for
the upcoming holiday season.

Food Safety of Farm-Raised Game
Venison, antelope, boar, pheasant, and other exotic species are
farm-raised in the United States under voluntary USDA inspection.
For an increasing number of restaurants and home diners, exotic meats
are becoming more commonplace.  The Hotline has been getting inquiries
about these meats.  Included here are answers to questions about game
animals.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/farmgame.htm

New Types of Food Thermometers:  How To Use Them to Ensure Food Safety
No matter how good a cook you are, there are certain mysteries in
cooking.  Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to
ensure safety and to determine the "doneness" of most foods.  To
be safe, a food must be cooked to an internal temperature high
enough to destroy any harmful bacteria that may be present.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/newtherm.htm

The Poultry Label Says "Fresh"
"I am shopping for a fresh turkey because I do not want the hassle of
defrosting a frozen one.  When should I buy it and how do I know if it
fresh?  What does 'fresh' on the label really mean?"
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/freshlabel.htm

Turkey -  From Farm to Freezer
USDA is often asked "How long can a turkey be kept in the freezer?"
This question is often heard by the food safety specialists answering
USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline.  Although the optimum freezing time
for quality best flavor and texture -- is 1 year, consumers are
usually surprised to learn that, from a safety standpoint, frozen
turkeys may be kept indefinitely in a freezer.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/farmfreeze.htm

For holiday food safety tips and other food safety information about
meat, poultry, or egg products, call the toll-free USDA/FSIS Meat and
Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555.  Information is also available under
Consumer Education and Information:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/consedu.htm

Listeria Information Available Free
In light of recent outbreaks of listeria contamination of frankfurters
and other foods, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service developed
consumer education brochures and a short video available for your use,
entitled "Listeriosis and Food Safety Tips."  Listeria monocytogenes
can cause listeriosis, an uncommon, but potentially fatal disease.
Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis.  Listeriosis can cause
high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and nausea.  Listeriosis
can also cause miscarriage and stillbirths, as well as serious and
sometimes fatal infections in those with weak immune systems--infants,
the frail or elderly, and persons with chronic disease, with HIV
infection, or taking chemotherapy.

For a free copy of the brochure, contact the Consumer Information
Center, Pueblo, CO, at 1-888-8-Pueblo or 1-888-878-3256.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/food.htm

To request a copy of the video, send an e-mail to the FSIS Food Safety
Education Staff at fsis.outreach at usda.gov.


FDA Awards Food Safety Grants
FDA announced 11 grant awards for innovative food safety
projects to 11 states and local regulatory agencies.  These grants,
which total nearly $500,000, were awarded during National Food
Safety Education Month(SM) as part of President Clinton's Food Safety
Initiative.  The grants are for a one year period and were awarded in
four key areas, including education and health information
dissemination.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpgrants.html

Year 2000 Challenge
A toolkit for Y2K community outreach was developed by the USDA's
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.  The
toolkit, available on the Web, includes factsheets, public service
announcements, brochures, media releases and more, with the theme
"Time is Running Out...Preparing For Y2K."
http://www.reeusda.gov/y2k/

The Food Supply Working Group (FSWG), chaired by the USDA, is one of
more than 20 working groups formed by the President's Council on
Year 2000 to assess readiness in key infrastructure areas to formulate
strategies for addressing problems.  The FSWG has been assessing and
reporting on the Year 2000 state of readiness of the food supply for
nearly a year and concludes that the food industry is well-prepared to
handle the century date change.
http://www.usda.gov/aphis/FSWG

For more information on Y2K, call the toll-free consumer hotline:
1-888-USA-4-Y2K
http://www.y2k.gov/new/0107PRLS.htm


NEWS FROM THE USDA/FDA FOODBORNE ILLNESS EDUCATION INFORMATION CENTER

Each issue of EdNet highlights an interesting item from the USDA/FDA
Foodborne Illness Educational Materials Database.

Are you a foodservice professional?  Do you need a HACCP plan?  Are
you wondering where to start?  There are two manuals recently
available that will tell you everything you need to know to get
started.  The Macomb Intermediate School District and Macomb County
Health Department (MI), have put together the "HACCP Manual for
Training School Food Service Personnel."  This manual contains
HACCP flowcharts for foods generally served in schools and
training materials for the food service director to use with each
chart.  The manual also includes time/temperature logs as well as
forms and stickers for designing your own forms.  The manual costs
$20 and is available from the Macomb Intermediate School District,
44001 Garfield, Clinton Twp, MI 48038-3349,
Telephone: 810-228-3349  Fax: 810-286-8998

In addition, Barbara LaVella and Jacquelyn Bostic have written the
"HACCP for Food Service Professionals" manual.  This 100-page manual
is targeted to food service managers and dietitians who must
implement a HACCP plan in their operation and is approved for 8
continuing education credits by the American School Food Service
Association, the Dietary Managers Association and the American
Dietetic Association.  This manual costs $49.50 plus $3.95
shipping and can be ordered from LaVella Food Specialists,
332 Halcyon, St. Louis, MO 63122
Telephone: 314-822-0089  Fax: 314-822-9305

To learn about other food safety training materials, visit the
Center's Web site at:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/foodborne/


PUBLICATIONS

CDC Reports Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999
CDC's Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century was
created to remind us of how far we've come, how we got here, and
exactly what public health is: the active protection of our nation's
health and safety, credible information to enhance health decisions,
and partnerships with local minorities and organizations to promote
good health.  The October article of this series focused on Safer
and Healthier Foods.  Articles can be accessed at:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/tengpha.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4840a1.htm

Childhood Diarrhea: Messages for Parents
Diarrhea is the passage of loose or watery stools that may contain
blood, pus, or mucus.  Children with diarrhea often have additional
symptoms including nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, headache, and
fever.  Additional information is available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/parents

CDC Reports On The Prevention of Hepatitis A
"Prevention of Hepatitis A Through Active or Passive Immunization:
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP)," a CDC report that updates the ACIP's 1996 recommendations on
the prevention of hepatitis A through immunization (Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report [MMWR] 1996; 45:[No. RR-15]) and includes
a) new data about the epidemiology of hepatitis A;
b) recent findings about the effectiveness of community-based
hepatitis A vaccination programs; and
c) recommendations for the routine vaccination of children.
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4812a1.htm

CDC Reports on Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors
six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among youth and
young adults, including unhealthy dietary behaviors.  The
national Alternative High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey
(ALT-YRBS) is one component of YRBSS; it was conducted in 1998.
Results of survey can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss4807a1.htm


MEETINGS/CONFERENCES

USDA to Sponsor Meeting For Codex Committee on Food Hygiene
USDA/FSIS will sponsor a public meeting to provide information and
receive public comments on issues that will be discussed at the
Thirty-second Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH),
which will be held November 29 - December 4, 1999, in Washington, D.C.
The public meeting will take place 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday,
November 9, Room 1409, Federal Office Building 8, 200 C St. SW,
Washington, DC 20204.  The CCFH was established to draft provisions
on food hygiene for all foods.  Through adoption of food standards,
codes of practice, and other guidelines developed by its committees,
and by prompting their adoption and implementation by governments,
Codex seeks to ensure that the world's food supply is safe, wholesome,
free from adulteration, and correctly labeled.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/ccfhmeet.htm

FDA Announces Public Meeting on Bioengineered Foods
The FDA is announcing three public meetings on issues within FDA's
jursidiction related to foods (both human and animal) derived from
plants developed using bioengineered techniques.  The purpose of these
meetings is for the agency to share its current approach and experience
over the past 5 years regarding safety evaluation and labeling of food
products derived from bioengineered plant varieties, to solicit views
on whether FDA's policies or procedures should be modified, and to
gather information to be used to assess the most appropriate means of
providing information to the public about bioengineered products in the
food supply.  These meetings will afford consumers, industry, and
academia an opportunity to provide focused comment on these issues in
a manner that will assist FDA in evaluating and refining its existing
policies and procedures.

DATES: The meetings are scheduled as follows:
1. Thursday, November 18, 1999, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Chicago, IL.
2. Tuesday, November 30, 1999, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Washington, DC.
3. Monday, December, 13, 1999, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Oakland, CA.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/hhbioeng.html

Submit written comments identified with docket number
[DOCID:fr25oc99-69] by January 13, 2000, to the Dockets Management
Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane,
Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, or via e-mail by going to:
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets

For further information contact:
Nega Beru, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-206)
200 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20204, 202-418-3090
Fax: 202-418-3131, e-mail: nberu at bangate.fda.gov


SPECIAL INTEREST

CDC's PulseNet Wins An "Innovations In American Government" Award
PulseNet, the CDC's foodborne illness detection system, was named
one of 10 winners of the Innovations in American Government Awards.
The CDC developed the PulseNet program to help investigate and prevent
outbreaks of foodborne illness by sharing information about problem
bacteria quickly.  PulseNet laboratories detect outbreaks by using a
technique called pulse-field gel electrophoesis (PFGE) to "fingerprint"
bacteria through DNA.  "Fingerprinting" the DNA of bacteria allows labs
to match disease-causing strains.  PulseNet has standardized the way
labs trace bacteria, and has taken the process a step further by
digitizing the information so that it can be shared electronically,
similar to a bar code.  In the past, labs had to trade physical
specimens to compare the disease-causing bacteria, a process that
took several days.  Now, scientists can access CDC's library of DNA
"fingerprints," to find bacteria matches within minutes.  The program
will receive a $100,000 award and recognition as one of the
nation's best examples of government performance.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r991015.htm

More information on the Innovations in American Government Awards,
including the application for the 2000 awards competition, is
available at the Innovations in American Government Web site:
http://www.innovations.harvard.edu


INDUSTRY INFO

USDA Launches New Biotechnology Web Site
USDA launched a new internet Web page which provides easy public
access to the Department's vast amount of material on agricultural
biotechnology issues.  The new site offers answers to some of the most
frequently asked biotechnology questions.  The USDA is one of three
Federal agencies along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and FDA, primarily responsible for regulating biotechnology in the
United States.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology

FDA Issues Guidance to Enhance Safety of Sprouts
The FDA issued two guidance documents to enhance the safety of
sprouts, a product that in recent years has been implicated in at
least 1,300 cases of foodborne illness.  The guidance advises sprout
producers and seed suppliers of steps they should take to reduce
microbial hazards common to sprout production.  A companion guide
provides producers with the latest information about testing spent
irrigation water, an important step to ensure the safety of sprouts.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/hhsprout.html

Although FDA solicits public comments, it is implementing the guidance
documents immediately because of the seriousness of the public health
associated with sprouts.  Written comments on the guidance documents
should be submitted by December 13, 1999, to be considered in the
preparation of a revised document, if warranted.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr991027.html


FEEDBACK

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this issue, please
contact us via e-mail at:
ednet at foodsafety.gov.

SUBSCRIBE

Please forward this issue to colleagues and friends and
tell them how to subscribe.  Thank you for sharing this update.



Web Page Addresses of the EdNet Federal Sponsors:

- FDA/CFSAN: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html
- USDA/FSIS: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
- CDC/NCID:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/ncid.htm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Your Listowners:
   Robyn Douglas <rgb at foodsafety.gov> and
   Holly McPeak  <Holly.McPeak at usda.gov> for content information

   Diane Schmit <dms at foodsafety.gov> for subscription problems

LISTSERV commands (send all commands to LISTSERV at FOODSAFETY.GOV):
- To subscribe, send "SUBSCRIBE EDNET-L YOUR NAME".
- To unsubscribe, send  "SIGNOFF EDNET-L".
- To get the list of EdNet files available, send "INDEX EDNET-L".
- For general LISTSERV commands, send  "HELP" or "INFO REFCARD".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++