Food safety educator

10 Pages·1999·0.69 MB·English

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.
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Listeria: Public Health Strategies .-X<)
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As a result of foodborne illness outbreaks traced to Listeria People at risk include: pregnant women and newborns,
monocytogenes linked to lunch meats and hot dogs, the older adults, and people with immune systems that are
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), is working with weakened as a result of a number of causes, including chronic
industry and the public to reconsider approaches to illnesses like diabetes, kidney disease and AIDS.
controlling the pathogen. Listeriosis causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever and
At a public meeting convened by FSIS in February 1999, chills. Sometimes people have an upset stomach, but not
Catherine Woteki, U. S. Department of Agriculture Under always. It can take up to 8 weeks for a person to become sick
Secretary for Food Safety, reinforced that “we need to look after eating a food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
at all our options” in developing new public health strate¬ While infected pregnant women may experience only mild,
gies. (Check the FSIS web site for updates: flu-like symptoms, the mother’s illness can be transmitted to
www.fsis.usda.gov) the fetus, causing serious illness, spontaneous abortion or
During the public meeting, FSIS officials emphasized stillbirth. A blood test or spinal fluid test can be used to
the importance of reaching people at risk with safe food confirm a diagnosis of illness from Listeria monocytogenes,
handling information concerning Listeria monocytogenes. and the illness can be treated with antibiotics.
Public health officials also stressed the importance of People at risk for listeriosis should:
warning consumers not to eat food products that have been • Reheat ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, luncheon
recalled. meats, cold cuts, fermented and dry sausage, and other deli-
Listeria monocytogenes is found widely in the environ¬ style meat and poultry products until they are steaming hot.
ment and can contaminate a variety of foods. It can be found If you cannot reheat these foods, don’t eat them.
in uncooked meats and vegetables as well as cooked foods
• Do not drink raw, unpasteurized milk or eat foods made
that can become contaminated after processing, such as soft
from it.
cheeses and lunch meats.
• Do not eat soft cheeses such as feta. Brie, Camembert, or
When people eat food contaminated W\\h Listeria
blue-veined varieties.
monocytogenes, they can become sick with an illness called
listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Less FSIS is working with the Centers for Disease Control and
than 2,000 cases of serious illness from listeriosis are Prevention as well as state and local health departments to
reported each year. But, of those reported cases, nearly 25 identify sources of contamination and prevention techniques.
percent die as a result of the illness. At the same time, the agency is teaming with the Food and
While most people don’t get sick from Listeria Drug Administration on a risk assessment concerning the
monocytogenes, some people are more at risk. These people pathogen due to be completed in the fall of 1999.
are more likely to get sick from bacteria in food and suffer For more information, check: www.foodsafety.gov •
serious health problems as a result.
United States Department of Agriculture Dianne Durant, writer/editor Meat and Poultry Hotline: [phone]
Food Safety and Inspection Service www/.fsis.usda.gov/OA/educator/educator.htm Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Teaming Educators and Communities
other food safety education project word for grandmothers, were the
has shown that teaming educators with teachers. The Abuela Project was born.
communities can produce dramatic Using funds from the Washington
results. State Dairy Projects Commission, the
Every community has people it relies Abuela Project trained 15 Hispanic
on as leaders. They may be elected grandmothers, who in turn trained
leaders, religious leaders or simply others in their community.
every-day people others turn to for Each abuela Wcis provided with a
guidance. These people can be the key to demonstration kit worth about $65
successful education campaigns. which included a thermometer, stock
That’s what happened in Yakima, pot and Spanish and English flyers
ill from the pathogen. Investigators for
Washington. containing the new recipe using
the Centers for Disease Control and
In the summer of 1997, Dr. Val pasteurized milk.
Prevention (CDC) linked the illnesses to
Hillers, an extension food specialist at The abuelas were asked to train at
the consumption of locally made raw-
Washington State University, attended least 15 other people. Each grand¬
milk cheese, queso fresco.
the first national conference for food mother did that and some did much
Nearly one-quarter of the county’s
safety educators in Washington, D.C., more. In all, the grandmothers trained
population is made up of Mexican-
sponsored by the Food Safety and more than 250 people.
Americans and queso fresco is a favorite
Inspection Service and the Food and The results were impressive.
traditional food.
Drug Administration. Rates of illness dropped dramati¬
No sooner had Hillers returned from
During one of the presentations. Dr. cally. Within 6 months, the rate
the conference in Washington, D.C., than
Anne Peterson of Georgia spoke of dropped to pre-outbreak levels. In
she learned that both the state health
outbreaks of yersinia in Georgia that 1998, not a single case was linked to
department and CDC were urging an
had been traced to chitterlings. consumption of soft cheese.
immediate intervention to try to stem the
The outbreaks were causing severe In late 1998, Thomas and Hillers
outbreak.
illness in children. Looking for help in obtained additional funding from
Peterson’s project, Hillers says,
stemming the outbreaks, Peterson USDA and trained an additional 30
“planted the seed. This is how you are
turned to the African-American commu¬ grandmothers. These abuelas will be
successful-you are respectful of the
nity. With their help, Peterson discov¬ training others throughout this year. By
community you are trying to reach.”
ered cooks in the community who were the end of 1999, Hillers expects the
Hillers worked with Theo Thomas, an
using a safer process for fixing chitter¬ program will reach seven counties in
extension educator at Washington State
lings. Peterson turned to the community the state.
University. Together, they assembled a
again. She used community networks Hillers and Thomas also expect to
working group of university students and
and leaders, including churches and target new training to small unlicensed
extension agents. Then they turned to the
ministers, to help educate others about vendors of fresh cheese and assist them
Hispanic community looking for a
the new, safer preparation method. The in the licensing process.
solution. And they found one.
result? Outbreaks declined. For a copy of the recipe flyer in
“One of the women we were meeting
As Hillers listened to Peterson speak, Spanish or English, or more informa¬
with told us her mother had a recipe for
she says, “I wondered if that approach tion on the project, contact:
queso fresco made with pasteurized
could work for us.” Dr. Val Hillers
milk,” Hillers recalls.
Like Peterson, Hillers faced an FSHN106L, WSU
The recipe was modified by dairy
outbreak taking its toll on children. P.O. Box 646367
product researchers at the university.
Between 1992 and 1997 in Yakima Pullman, WA 99164-6376
Graduate student Ryan Bell helped
County, Washington, illnesses from
transform the recipe into a full-blown
Salmonella Typhimurium increased phone: [phone]
educational campaign that relied on the
dramatically. In the first half of 1997,
Spanish-speaking community for its
89 people, primarily children, became
success. Abuelas, which is the Spanish
2 The Food Safety Educator
When “Short and Sweet”--
Comes Up Short
I Countering a Food Safety
“Lay Theory”
Excerpted from materials by
One of the basic tenets of effective
communications in the 1990’s has been Rowan notes several properties of Katherine E. Rowan
keep it “short and sweet.” lay theories:
But as Katherine Rowan, professor of • They are “tacit,” hard to explain. 7grew up with my mother
communication at Purdue University cooking the turkey overnight at
• People don’t want to let go of them-
notes, consider this statement: the earth low temperatures and no one got
they are “obdurate.”
is weightless. sick. So why can’t I do that in
• They are intuited.
“That’s a short statement. There are 1998?"
no big words there. But the concept is • They are a guide to behavior.
State the lay view and acknowl¬
hard to understand. It runs counter to
edge its apparent plausibility:
our intuition,” she explains. In order to overcome lay theories,
You may be right that no one got
That “intuition” is the basis of Rowan advises:
sick. People adjust to levels of
something Rowan terms “lay theories,” • State the consumers’ lay theory back to
pathogens over time, so if the
the personal explanations people have them.
cook followed the same practices
for how the world works. Sometimes lay
• Acknowledge its apparent plausibility. repeatedly, family members may
theories are correct, even though they
may be based on intuition. But some¬ • Create dissatisfaction with it. have acclimated.
times they are not. • Offer support for a new view.
Create dissatisfaction with the
Scientists who are trying to comm*
Illustrate with familiar examples.
lay view. On the other hand,
unicate ideas that run counter to
Rowan points out that good commu¬ sometimes we don’t remember, or
people’s lay theories will find, she says,
nicators frequently understand intuitively even know, when people get sick.
that these inaccurate ideas get in the
that they are dealing with lay theories- Guests might become ill and the
way.
and seek to defuse them. family may never know. Or,
To deal with lay theories, communi¬
To understand the lay theories you are people may think they had a
cators need to go beyond “short and
dealing with. Rowan suggests that “bug,” when in fact it was food
sweet. Sometimes, more words are
educators tap their own knowledge as poisoning. Dangerous pathogens
needed to explain complex ideas,” she
well as the knowledge of others. Rich in food can make people sick
says.
sources of data, she points out, may be days—or even weeks—after eating.
Rowan applied her ideas about lay
people who routinely field consumers’ Sometimes people just don’t
theories to food safety during a recent
questions, like the experts on the USDA make the connection.
presentation to the Washington D.C.
Meat and Poultry Hotline. “You can hear
Chapter of Agricultural Communicators
in the things they say to consumers that State the scientifically supported
in Education.
they are instinctively dealing with lay view and illustrate with familiar
As Rowan pointed out, sometimes a
theories,” she says. examples.
person’s personal theories about food
For more information, contact: When food is kept at low tem¬
conflict with the science of food and
peratures, known as the “danger
food safety.
Katherine E. Rowan zone,” bacteria double every
In order to communicate effectively.
Department of Communication 20 minutes. A turkey cooked
Rowan says, educators need to recognize
1366 LAEB 2114 overnight at low temperatures
the lay theories that may be blocking
Purdue University may make food warm enough to
communications.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1366 promote the growth of bacteria,
email: [email protected] ^ but not hot enough to stop
phone: [phone] bacterial growth, or kill the
bacteria that are present. Why
take the chance? ^
Volume 4, No. 1 1999
When Warnings Don’t Work
Check the Web for
Recall Info:
Despite a flurry of media reports estimated 11,000 people in Georgia
concerning a 1994 recall of Salmonella- became ill.
Don’t forget to check the web for
contaminated ice cream, a newly CDC studied the effectiveness of the
recall information. The latest
published study shows that many people recall warnings through a telephone
information on meat and poultry
who had heard about the recall ate the survey of 250 randomly selected Georgia
recalls is available through the
ice cream anyway. customers of the recalled product.
FSIS web site at:
In fact, 16 percent of all the reported The results?
http://fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/
illnesses in the study area occurred after After first hearing the warning, 36
xrecalls.htm
the warnings were issued. percent of the respondents did not
Click on the “retail notifica¬
According to the study’s authors understand that the recalled ice cream
tion reports,” and click again on
writing in the January 1999 issue of The should not be eaten.
the accompanying report number.
American Journal of Public Health (Vol. In 31 percent of the households who
For each recall, the site provides:
89, No. 1), “The warning was neither as had the product and heard the warning,
•Info on product recalled by
timely or as convincing as we would someone ate the ice cream anyway.
brand names, producers and
have hoped.... Many customers misunder¬ Twenty-six percent of the people who ate
identifying codes.
stood or were skeptical of the warning.” the ice cream became sick with diarrhea.
• The problem or reason for
The study showed that only 6 percent “The media, especially TV, get the
the recall.
of the news reports included the fact that word out quickly, but may not focus on
• How/when discovered.
the recalled food should not be eaten. the public health message,” the authors
• The federal establishment.
Instead, news stories focuses on the ill noted.
• The corporate contact.
people and the investigation into the The authors added that they don’t
• FSIS contacts, including
source of the contamination. know if public health officials may have
emergency response, media
The study on the effectiveness of missed opportunities in press interviews inquiries. Congress and consumer
warnings on recalled food was con¬ to emphasize that consumers should not
calls.
ducted in Georgia by the Centers for eat the recalled food.
For information on FDA
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Our investigation,” the authors recalls, go to http://www.fda.gov/
In the 1994 outbreak, it was esti¬ concluded, “highlights the need for po/enforceindex/99enforce.html
mated that more than 224,000 people further research on methods for deliver¬
nationwide became sick as a result of ing effective warnings.” •
5a/wor7e//fl-contaminated ice cream; an
llhe Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
If you haven’t done this lately, log on • News and safety alerts • Educational materials for kids, teens
to www.foodsafety.gov and educators, including links to
• Consumer advice
You’ll find a new and much improved materials produced by state and local
• Other federal and state agencies
federal site that provides information on governments.
involved in food safety
hot topics in food safety, links to key
sites inside and outside of government • How to report illness and product
and a search engine and index. complaints
Whether you’re a food safety educa¬ • Industry assistance
tor, student, consumer, industry rep or a
• Facts on foodborne pathogens
kid, you'll find something of interest at
this great gateway site, including:
www.foodsafety.gov
Avv\/\A/\/\i\|\]\Ai\^
4 The Food Safety Educator
I Cooked to the
Food will be cooked to the “T”— work with food safety educators in the Those two messages will be central to a
temperature that is. If food safety campaign to expand use of thermom¬ campaign to be launched by FSIS later
educators have their way, consumers will eters in the home. this year.
be using food thermometers to check the “The need is so evident,” she said. In the meantime, the FSIS thermom¬
food they prepare. “Thermometer use is the most reliable eter industry briefing has created
While some consumers may scoff at method consumers have for ensuring momentum. Thermometer industry
the idea of using food thermometers for that foods have reached a temperature representatives are studying ways to
everyday meals, educators are just sufficient to destroy pathogens.” support food safety education and make
gearing up to show consumers how they “We have our work cut out for us,” sure that their products and packaging
can improve food quality as well as Woteki said. She noted that focus group are “consumer friendly.”
safety by using a food thermometer. testing with consumers shows that Building on the campaign launched
To lay the ground work for a ther¬ people have many objections to using last year by Wegmans, two more grocery
mometer campaign, the Food Safety and food thermometers. But the focus group store chains. Giant Food Inc. and Copps,
Inspection Service (FSIS) held a briefing testing also found that change is have launched thermometer campaigns
for thermometer industry representatives possible. and others are exploring how they can
late in 1998. One key to effecting that change is promote the use of food thermometers.
Catherine Woteki, USDA Under stressing that consumers can improve Interested in more information?
Secretary for Food Safety, encouraged the quality of their food, as well as the Contact Holly McPeak at 202/720-5836,
thermometer industry representatives to safety, by using a food thermometer. or email: [email protected]
■Arkansas’ Food Safety Program for Kids
They look like a pair of plain, white the first state requiring food safety The curriculum and puppets are
gloves, with hand-sewn eyes and smiling education for schools. available to other educators for free.
mouths-but anyone with a little imagi¬ The result was Operation Food “It was always our plan to make it
nation would know they are a lot more Safety. The project is supported by a available throughout the state and
than that. They are “Squeaky and Clean, coalition drawn from state and health develop a model other states could use,”
the Handwashing Team.” education departments, the University of says program coordinator Amy
These hand puppets are now in Arkansas, the Arkansas Poultry Federa¬ Waldroup.
Arkansas schools teaching young tion, the Arkansas Hospitality Associa¬ The two other curriculum packages,
children the importance of handwashing tion, and grocer groups. grades five through eight and and grades
as part of a program called Operation Operation Food Safety plans for the nine through twelve, are now being
Food Safety. development of three curriculum developed and will be available during
These children will be learning about packages. the 1999-2000 school year.
food safety, in part, because one little boy The curriculum for pre-K through For more information, contact:
became sick and almost died as a result grade four, of which Squeaky and Clean Amy Waldroup
ofE. co//0157;H7. are a part, started in schools in 1998. University of Arkansas
That little boy is the grandson of The 60-plus-page curriculum is divided Room 0-114, Poultry Science Center
Arkansas Representative Percy Malone. into three clusters targeting the differ¬ Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
As a result of his grandson’s illness, ent grades and is designed for fun
Malone became an advocate for food learning. It’s loaded with games and email: [email protected]
safety education. He introduced and puzzles. More than 2,500 copies have phone: [phone]
helped pass legislation making Arkansas already been distributed. fax: [phone] •
Volume 4, No. 1, 1999 5
briefs
■ USDA’s Meat and Poultry
Hotline and toll-free
The Big Chill! 1-800/535-4555
It’s time to talk about “Chill,” the • The Big Thaw-Safe Defrosting You can access the feature packet through
topic of USDA’s Meat and Poultry Methods for Consumers our web site. Go to:
Hotline’s packet of news features. Fighting BAC™ by Chilling Out www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/hotpaks.htm
Loaded with information for
• Refrigeration and Food Safety
consumers, the packet includes
features on: Appliance Thermometers
•Keeping Food Safe During a Power
Outage
■ FDA Consumer ■ New Director for
Magazine Highlights Sprouts Food Safety
Intitiative
v^uestions Keep Sprouting About Avoid musty-smelling, dark, or Dr. Morris Potter has been named to be
Sprouts,” notes the January/February slimy-looking sprouts. the first director of the President’s Food
issue of the Food and Drug • Refrigerate sprouts at home. The Safety Initiative program operated by FDA.
Administration’s (FDA) consumer refrigerator should be set at no Coming from the Centers for Disease
magazine. higher than 40 degrees Fahrenheit Control and Prevention (CDC), Potter will
The lead article focuses on ill¬ (4 degrees Celsius). be responsible for all of the food safety
nesses traced to sprouts, explaining the efforts at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and
• Wash hands with warm water and
different kinds of sprouts, and new Applied Nutrition.
soap for at least 20 seconds before
techniques being used by industry to Potter’s duties will include expanding
and after handling raw foods.
improve safety. and improving the FDA’s food-related
• Rinse sprouts thoroughly with water
In a section titled “How to Eat inspection and surveillance. Potter will
before use. Rinsing can help
Sprouts Safely,” FDA reminds consum¬ also coordinate FDA’s collaboration with
remove surface dirt. Do not use
ers: other government agencies in responding
soap or other detergents.
If you belong to one of the groups to foodborne illness outbreaks, instituting
at high risk for foodborne diseases- The article is available on the web additional prevention controls and
children, the elderly, and people with site: strategies and conducting nationwide
compromised immune systems— http://www.fda.gov/fdac/default.html public education campaigns.
avoid raw alfalfa sprouts. For subscription information, call At CDC, Potter served as assistant
If you are a healthy adult, follow the Government Printing Office at director for foodborne diseases. He also led
these tips: 202/512-1800. • the World Health Organization Collaborat¬
• Buy only sprouts kept at refrigerator ing Center for Foodborne Disease Surveil¬
temperature. Select crisp-looking lance. •
sprouts with the buds attached.
6 The Food Safety Educator
new<^ hripf<;
B Risk Communications HHow Can You Take in I New Web Site
6,000 Foods Without
Gaining a Pound?
Interested in risk communications? Download the USDA Nutrient Data Base Food safety information from the food
Check out these benchmark resources: for Standard Reference. processing industry is now available
•“Communicating Foodborne Disease The data base is the primary source through www.safefood.org
Risk, ” by Baruch Fischhoff and Julie of food composition data in the U.S. It’s The site is run by the National Food
S. Downs, Emerging Infectious the only such data base in the world Processors Association (NFPA) and is
Diseases, Vol. 3, No. 4, October- that’s free. expected to increase consumer awareness
December 1997 The data base has values for as many of the “safety benefits and nutritional
as 81 nutrients in 6,000 foods among 22 value of processed foods,” according to
•“Risk perception and communica¬
food groups. NFPA’s Kelly Johnston. •
tion,” Chapter 34, by Baruch
Some 8,000 visitors access the web
Fischhoff, Ann Bostrom and Marilyn
site each month. If you want to be among
Jacobs Quadrel, Oxford Textbook of
them, go to:
Public Health, 3rd Edition, Vol. 2,
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
Oxford University Press, 1997 •
■ Catch the Catchment ■ New Emerging
Infectious
Diseases Plan
The latest in FoodNet data is now Branch. Dr. Mead notes that during the In November 1998, the Centers for
available through CDC’s newly devel¬ first 12 months of surveillance, coli Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
oped newsletter. The Catchment. 0157:H7 accounted for at least 69 released the second phase of their plan to
The first issue, released Fall 1998, percent of D+HUS cases among children combat emerging infectious diseases,
includes information on FoodNet’s in the catchment area.” Mead also including foodborne illnesses.
active surveillance of laboratory- pointed out that while D+HUS is The plan, titled “Preventing Emerg¬
confirmed cases of foodborne illness, typically associated with bloody diar¬ ing Infectious Diseases: A Strategy for the
which is considered FoodNet’s “core rhea, nearly one-quarter of the D+HUS 21st Century,” provides a detailed
activity.” patients reported non-bloody diarrhea. description of CDC’s efforts to under¬
The newsletter also provides a The newsletter is available through stand, detect, control and prevent
rundown of FoodNet abstracts presented the web: national and international infectious
at the International Conference on http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/ diseases.
Emerging Infectious Diseases in March foodnet/foodnet.htm The plan builds on an earlier plan
1998. The overview provides abstract Or, if you’d like an old-fashioned released in 1994.
titles, authors and some highlights of hard copy to hold in your hands, email The plan targets nine categories of
interesting findings. Sam Yang at [email protected], or call problems, including antibiotic resistance
The newsletter also includes a one- 404/639-4356. And here’s the best part- and foodborne and waterborne diseases.
page Q & A concerning E. coli 0157:H7 it’sFREE. • To access the plan on the web, go to:
and Diarrhea-Associated Hemolytic http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/emergplan/
Uremic Syndrome (D+HUS) which
features an interview with Dr. Paul Mead,
a medical epidemiologist from the
Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases
Volume 4, No. 1, 1999 7
m
The BAC Page ■ Help for BAC!
Susan Conley, director of food safety
Operation Fight BAC! T>.l Florida education for FSIS, began a one-year
appointment this past January to assist
the Partnership for Food Safety Educa-
With teams of volunteers and a our effort is to gauge the effectiveness of TM
tion with the Fight BAC! campaign.
determination to change consumers’ our approach, analyze the significance of
Conley will work with the Partner¬
food handling habits, Operation Fight the findings and publish a report.”
ship as a full-time technical advisor
BACi... Florida is moving into high To do this, Costa and students from
assisting in project development,
gear. the University of South Florida College
consumer education outreach and food
Starting in January of this year and of Public Health will be conducting pre-
service worker training.
continuing until March 2000, the group and post tests of consumers. The study is
Conley is on assignment at the
is holding consumer workshops being conducted by Jaime Sanchez as
University of Maryland/Joint Institute for
throughout central Florida on safe food part of his Masters thesis in public health
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
TM
handling using the four key Fight BAC! and will involve follow-up surveys.
“I’m thrilled to be working on the
messages and supporting materials. A variety of tools will be used in the
campaign,” Conley said, “and I’m
According to group facilitator Roy consumer workshops. A Fight BAC! ™ encouraging all the ‘BAC fighters’ out
Costa of the Florida Department of slide show was created and donated by
there to contact me. I want to hear how
Business and Professional Regulation, the Florida Association of Milk, Food and
you’re fighting BAC.”
“our goal is to see if we can document a Environmental Sanitarians. Handouts
One of Conley’s projects will be
change in consumers’ attitudes and are being provided by Lynn Isaacs of the
assisting with the ne\NBacTalk newslet¬
behaviors. Consumer food safety Food and Drug Administration.
ter by providing articles about successful
education is much talked about, but few Interested in hearing more? Contact education campaigns using Fight BAC!™
studies exist showing the efficacy of Costa at 904/943-9602, or email The newsletter, and subscription infor¬
educational interventions. A key part of [email protected]. • mation, can be accessed through the web
site shown below.
Conley can be reached at
■Canada Fights BAC!
301/405-5421. Fax [phone]. Or,
email: [email protected]. edu •
Last November, a unique coalition of “Fight BACfis the most ambitious
Canada’s food industries, consumer and and far-reaching consumer food safety
health groups, and government came awareness campaign ever undertaken in
together to start a new national public Canada,” said Lyle Vanclief, Minister, Check out
awareness campaign on food safety in Agriculture and Agri-Food. the BAC
the home kitchen. Information from the campaign will
Talk news¬
The Canadian Partnership for be distributed through public health
Consumer Food Safety Education is offices, public service announcement on letter:
using the Fight BACf” logo and mes¬ radio and TV, supermarket displays and www.fightbac.org
sages. The campaign was launched in community events.
five cities across the country, Ottawa, For more information, check the new
Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and web site: www.canfightbac.org #
Vancouver.
Subscribe for Free!
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The Food Safety Educator is a free Or you can write: race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability,
political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family
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Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
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You can e-mail the informa¬ FSIS/USDA [phone] (voice and TDD).
tion to: [email protected] Washington, D.C. 20250 To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director,
Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten, Building, 14th and
You can fax to 202/720-9063.
independence Avenue, SW, Washington DC 20250-9410 or call
[phone] (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal employment
opportunity provider and employer.
8 The Food Safety Educator