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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
Consumer Information
Fall 1996
If you have, you're in good company. According to several new surveys, many consumers are reporting they have noticed the "Safe Handling Instructions" now found on packages of meat and poultry.
For some, it's making a difference in how they handle food at home.
The "Safe Handling Instructions" were mandated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service in 1994. Now, a number of sources are providing revealing information about the label's impact.
Here are some "snapshots":
According to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), six out of 10 shoppers are aware of the safe handling label. Of those shoppers, 43% said they had changed their handling practices as a result. The FMI survey was conducted by telephone and involved a representative nationwide sample of 2,008 male and female supermarket shoppers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with state health departments, is starting to collect data on the safe handling label. Six states added questions about the label to their 1995 annual surveys of health practices, conducted by telephone with a representative number of people in each state.
While survey information is still preliminary, results in from one state, New York, indicate that 36 percent of the respondents reported seeing the label. Of those people, 80 percent recalled a food safety message; 36 percent report changing a food preparation practice.
According to Dr. Sean Altekruse, FDA liaison to the CDC, "the label has information that can help people not get sick--and it's right there in everyone's home. All they need to do is pay attention to it."
Results from five additional states on the safe handling label should be in by the end of the year.
In upstate New York, a grocery chain called Wegmans conducted more than 4,500 in-store interviews of shoppers. Their results: 68% said they had read the safe handling label; 43% said it was "very useful." At the same time, 53% said they had some difficulty trying to read the label.
An AP news story issued April 17 showed that 89% of respondents said they followed safe-handling instruction labels when asked "what do you personally do to help ensure the safety of the food you eat?"
The AP poll was a random sample of 1,019 adults nationwide, conducted by telephone.
More information about the effectiveness of the safe handling label will be coming in the near future. FSIS is now working with the Food and Drug Administration to add questions about the safe handling label to a major consumer survey to be conducted this winter. Results should be in by next spring.
As the holidays approach, specialists on the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline have put their latest food safety advice for consumers in a number of feature articles released to the media.
The Hotline's main feature article is called "Timing's Not Everything." The article includes guidance on cooking temperatures and variables that can affect the roasting time of whole birds.
Many variables can affect roasting time, such as whether or not you're starting with a partially frozen bird, or the type of pan you use--dark pans cook faster for example.
A meat thermometer should be used to check the internal temperature of the bird in several places for safety's sake in terms of undercooking and to prevent overcooking.
To take a look at the complete article, check out this newsletter's inserts.
Other articles in the Hotline Holiday Package include:
All articles in the Holiday Package can be accessed through the Internet via the FSIS Home Page: http://www.usda.gov/fsis
For more information about the Meat and Poultry Hotline, contact Bessie Berry, Director, at (202) 720-5604.
A lot of people call them take out foods. The industry calls them "home meal replacements." But regardless of the name you use, remember: Handle With Care.
Concerns about the safety of take out foods were highlighted this past spring at the annual meeting in Chicago of the National Restaurant Association and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI). Experts noted a "blurring" of the line between supermarkets and restaurants as they compete for the growing "home meal replacement" market.
The 1996 Trends Report, compiled by FMI, underscores the appeal of take out foods. According to the report, 38% of people responding said they eat take out foods "fairly often." That's on top of another 8% who said they eat them "pretty much every time."
Food safety specialists on the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline share industry's concern about the safety of take out foods. In cooperation with FMI and the Food and Drug Administration, they put together a brochure called "Take Out Foods--Handle With Care." Top tips include:
For a look at the complete brochure, check out this newsletter's inserts. Feel free to copy and distribute.
Food handlers need to continue to be alert to the importance of safe handling of eggs--especially food handlers in hospitals, nursing homes and commercial kitchens.
Looking at data from 1976 through 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports an increasing number of illnesses attributed to Salmonella enteritidis (SE), a bacteria associated with shell eggs. According to CDC, "the proportion of reported Salmonella isolates that were SE increased from 5% to 28%."
In addition, the data shows a high mortality rate in hospitals or nursing homes which accounted for "only 12% of all outbreak-associated cases but 90% of all deaths."
CDC's recommendations for preventing SE include not serving raw or undercooked eggs, especially to people who are immunocompromised. CDC also recommends that institutions using pooled eggs substitute pasteurized eggs for shell eggs. For complete safety, USDA recommends further cooking of pasteurized eggs as well.
CDC also notes that it's also important to store eggs in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. To see the report, check the August 30 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report is available on the Internet. Check the CDC homepage at: http://www.cdc.gov.
Safe handling of eggs is also important to consumers: Some behavioral risk surveys indicate about half of consumers still eat undercooked eggs. For safe handling info, check this newsletter's inserts.
This past summer, FSIS made the most dramatic changes in the past 90 years in the way meat and poultry is inspected in this country. Instead of relying on sensory methods--sight, touch and smell--to check for signs of disease, the 7,400 federal inspectors in slaughter and processing plants will be using a science-based system for monitoring critical points in production and microbial testing.
New requirements for meat and poultry plants call for:
The changes in inspection are designed to help cut risks from foodborne disease by reducing harmful bacteria.
At the same time, it's important for consumers not to become complacent because bacteria cannot be totally eliminated.
"That's why the basics of safe food handling--spelled out on the Safe Handling Instructions label--continue to be so important," said Marjorie Davidson, director of food safety education for FSIS. "Consumers need to know we ARE improving inspection, AND, food still needs to be handled with care."
Interested in more information on last summer's inspection changes?
Check out the FSIS Home Page on the World Wide Web: http://www.usda.gov/fsis
Who do you think is most likely to eat undercooked hamburgers? And who do you think is most likely to stick with the safer, thoroughly cooked burger?
According to preliminary results from a new survey, the hamburger "risk-taker" is most likely to be a middle-aged, middle-income, educated white man. And the play-it-safe person--someone over 60.
This is the type of information now being gleaned from a growing body of surveillance data about food safety behaviors.
According to Dr. Fred Angulo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "foodborne disease outbreaks are preventable and frequently linked to behaviors such as high-risk food consumption. Until now, we have had very little data to monitor these behaviors and assess the impact of educational campaigns."
To help correct this problem, last year CDC provided state public health departments with a 12-question Food Safety Module that can be added to their annual surveys of risk behaviors within the states (the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System).
According to Dr. Angulo, six states added the food safety questions last year, five are using it this year, and "we hope more states will participate next year."
"With data like this in hand, we'll be able to help educators develop and target information campaigns based on what we know instead of what we guess, in terms of who needs help," said Dr. Angulo.
In addition to revealing differences in food handling behaviors among different groups of people, the 1995 survey data also showed:
Additional data from the 1995 survey should be available by the end of this year. State health departments interested in adding the Food Safety Module to their 1997 surveillance of behavioral risks should contact: Dr. Sean Altekruse, FDA liaison to CDC, or Dr. Fred Angulo, (404) 639-2206.
Browny the Burger says "If I'm pink in the middle I'm cooked too little!"
That's the theme of a food safety campaign launched this past summer by the Allegheny County Health Department in Pennsylvania.
Browny the Burger appeared on billboards and bus signs, and also made public appearances on TV and radio talk shows, as well as civic events.
The health department--through its costumed Browny the Burger character--took to the streets with its campaign to combat E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks, which traditionally peak during summer months.
The campaign also featured a coloring contest for kids, Browny the Burger refrigerator magnets and a letter to parents outlining tips for safe hamburger preparation.
A local retail food chain, Giant Eagle, was an active cooperator in the campaign and donated 4,000 free tickets to a Pittsburgh Pirates home game to winners of the coloring contest.
Interested in more information? Contact Glenda Christy or Michael Diskin at (412) 578-8044.
"Food Safety at Home, School and When Eating Out," is the title of a new children's coloring book developed jointly by FSIS's Food Safety and Education Office and the Chef and the Child Foundation, an arm of the American Culinary Federation.
The 16-page coloring book is targeted to children ages 4-7. According to project coordinator Liz Lapping, "we were especially interested in developing something for young children because they are more susceptible to foodborne illness. This project teaches kids about food safety--and makes it fun!"
Each page of the book emphasizes a basic food handling rule in child-appropriate language. To take a look at a copy, check this newsletter's inserts. Feel free to copy and distribute.
For more information, contact Laura Fox or Liz Lapping at (202) 690-0351. (Editor's Note: This number was changed in 1998 to (202) 720-9352)
That's the title of a new report just issued by the American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF). The Foundation convened a panel of leading medical experts as well as food scientists and educators to examine the problem of unsafe food handling in the U.S.
The panel's conclusion: Americans don't know enough about preventing foodborne illness and a major public education effort is essential.
For a copy of the report, contact John Eichberger, American Meat Institute, (703) 841-2400. Or write:
American Meat Institute
1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1600
Arlington, Va. 22209
To see how far our services reach--The contractor that handles all the food services for the U.S. military in Bosnia recently called the USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center for food safety materials.
You can reach them too:
On the Internet, visit the Center's World Wide Web site at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodborne/foodborn.htm
Or fax: (301)504-6409.
Stay Tuned!
It's time to re-examine food safety efforts to make sure they're as effective as they can be in improving food handling practices. How do we do this?
FSIS and FDA will host a food safety conference to address strategies for food safety education.
Check the Winter issue of this newsletter for info on time and place.
USDA's Food Safety Education Office is the consumer education division of FSIS. Staff educators, researchers, science writers, design and marketing experts work with scientists and officials in government, academe, and private industry to produce educational materials. FSE has 15 years of experience showing the positive impact of these print, video, and teleconference efforts.
We encourage you to FAX us your comments on topics you find useful or new directions we might explore. Fax your views to: Editor, FSE.
For Further Information Contact:
FSIS Food Safety Education Staff
Dianne Durant, Writer/Editor
Phone: (301) 504-9605
Fax: (304) 504-0203
E-mail: fsis.outreach@usda.gov