|
Food Safety and Nutrition
|
The FDA/NSTA Symposium: Food Safety and Nutrition took place at the America's Center
in St. Louis, MO, on Saturday, March 31, 2007. Fourteen educators were in attendance,
representing the states of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Missouri, New York, and Oklahoma.
The team of presenters included Dr. Sufian Alkhaldi, Camille Brewer, and Sherry
McGarry from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Shawn Eblen from Exponent,
and master teachers Mimi Cooper, Ken Bingman, and Elena Stowell. The symposium focused
on food microbiology, food processing, food epidemiology, the food label, the 2005
Dietary Guidelines, and the public health impact of food safety. NSTA would like
to thank all the participants and the presenters for a job well done!
The program started with an introductory administrative session during which Flavio
Mendez, Symposia and Web Seminars Program Manager at NSTA, familiarized participants
with the contents of their folders, including the agenda, the talent release form,
the pre-assessment form, and the session's learning outcomes. Shawn Eblen started
the program with a presentation about current issues in food safety. Eblen shared
some of the potential reasons for the increase of foodborne illnesses in the last
40 years, including, better detection methods, more complex food chain, globalization
of supply, and new unusual foods and food preparation. How do we protect ourselves
and our students from foodborne illnesses? Education and prevention is the primary
barrier to safeguard food safety, he explained. Washing your hands often, cooking
meals and storing food at the correct temperatures, and avoiding cross contamination
can prevent foodborne illnesses.
Camille Brewer followed Mr. Eblen's presentation with a presentation about the food
label. The FDA has a set of rules in place related to food labels that all food
producers must use. The food label not only provides information about the content
of the package, but also includes recommendations of daily intake for a balance
diet. Consumers can make healthier choices by becoming familiar with the contents
of the food label on the products they purchase.
Mimi Cooper followed Ms. Brewer's presentation with a classroom activity that uses
the food label. Teachers worked in teams using empty food containers and packages
to put together a healthy, one-day menu. Teachers' teams recorded the number of
calories, trans fats, sugars, vitamins, etc., for their one-day menu and then shared
them with the group. Ms. Cooper and Ms. Brewer facilitated the discussion and made
constructive comments regarding the different menu choices made by each team.
After the activity Ms. Brewer gave participants a guided tour of the new FDA interactive
learning program called: Making Your Calories Count available online at the FDA
web site. The program, developed to help consumers plan a healthful diet while managing
calorie intake, has three chapters: (1) Size Up Your Serving & Calories; (2) See
What's In It For You; and (3) Judge If It's Right For You. Symposium participants
enjoyed the guided tour of the web site and shared their ideas for its inclusion
in the classroom.
After a lunch break and time to explore the conference exhibit hall, participants
returned to the symposium and watched excerpts of the DVD Dr. X, a fictional scientist
that uses special gadgets and his knowledge of food safety to "fight" and prevent
foodborne illnesses. All participants received a copy of the DVD at the end of the
symposium. The video program, designed for classroom use, includes information about
food safety practices that can be implemented in school or at home.
Dr. Alkhaldi's presentation followed the Dr. X video, talking about foodborne pathogens
and food science careers. In 1999 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported
that an average of 5,000 people die every year due to foodborne pathogens. Data
from the CDC showed that one of the contributing factors to the spread of foodborne
pathogens included the handling of food with bare hands by people with infectious
diseases. At the end of his presentation, Dr. Alkhaldi talked about his laboratory
investigations and about careers in food science. His recommendation to the teachers
at the symposium was that students interested in this field not only learn about
nutrition and food, but also mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, and information
technology.
Ken Bingman led the next activity where the participants had to detect bacteria
in a liquid. The activity, called Blue's the Clue, is one of several activities
available in the Science in Our Food Supply curriculum. In the activity teachers
used an indicator, methylene blue, to detect bacteria in milk. For the activity,
participants had to wear lab coats, gloves, goggles, and used laboratory equipment
provided. The activity teaches laboratory skills and the use of indicators as a
technique to detect foodborne pathogens in liquids.
The third and last set of presentations of the day focused on the topic of outbreaks.
Ms. Sherri McGarry talked about the FDA's emergency coordination and response. To
eliminate foodborne-related problems in the population, the FDA conducts both, surveillance
and outbreak investigations. To assist in the surveillance, networks of doctors
and local and state health officials collect and share information regarding signs
of potential outbreaks. Once an outbreak is identified, the CDC and the FDA get
involved. Agency officials are responsible for reviewing the epidemiological and
environmental data, implementing tracebacks of implicated foods, and removing the
product from the market. McGarry also talked about recent outbreaks in the United
States involving lettuce, spinach, and cantaloupe and the work the FDA has done
to investigate them.
Ms. Elena Stowell followed McGarry's presentation with a role play activity about
outbreaks. In this activity students work in teams in the role of food science detectives
asking questions and following clues to discover the pathogen(s), product(s), and
person(s) involved in an outbreak. The activity is also part of the Science in Our
Food Supply curriculum developed by the FDA.
Want to learn more about this symposium? Check out the photo gallery, browse the
program's agenda, and read the presenters' biographical sketches.
Underwritten in part by FDA.