Controlling Foodborne Illness -– Prevention or Correction? Continued from page 8
Add Nutrition Education To Your Curriculum Continued from page 7
doesn’t seem to be enough. Sodas are typically served in 12-, 16-, or even 20-ounce sizes. With milk, on the other hand, the normal eight-ounce serving provides eight ounces of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.4 grams of fat, all for a total of 100 calories. How about a comparison of popcorn: the air-popped variety versus the movie theater popcorn. Three cups of air-popped popcorn contain 90 calories, one gram of fat, three grams of protein, 18 grams of carbohy- drates, and four grams of fiber. Three cups of movie theater popcorn, however, contain a similar amount of protein and fiber, but deliver 250 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrates and 17 grams of fat. You might wonder why the same amount of movie theater popcorn has a higher level of carbohydrates. One theory is that the butter “melts” part of the popcorn volume, requiring more actual popcorn kernels to equal three cups of volume. The Center for Science in the Public Interest revealed that a “small” bucket of movie theater popcorn typically contains 11 cups of popcorn. A medium to large serving contains 20 cups. Tap Into Available Resources If you operate a school foodservice department, and take part in the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program, you have access to a wealth of existing resources. This includes science-based nutrition information, as well as age-appropriate nutrition curricula which are available to teach students and adults about nutrient density. Here is just a sampling of the resources you can access: 1. Team Nutrition – Starting in 1995, this USDA implementation vehicle for its “School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children,” began providing training for school foodservice operations, as well as nutrition education for children and families, and resources to support a healthier school environment. Its URL is: www.fns.usda.gov/tn/school . 2. The Institute of Child Nutrition – The Institute’s research-based education and training resources help “district school nutrition directors/ supervisors, managers, and nutrition assistants/technicians [to] meet the challenges of the day-to-day operations of successful school nutrition programs.” Their URL is: https://theicn.org/school-nutrition-programs . 3. Manufacturers – You don’t want to overlook the resources that K-12 product manufacturers have to offer. They have materials on menu plan- ning using nutrient dense foods, training programs for staff, with CEUs, and marketing materials that can help you to promote healthy meals to your students. Go to: www.tysonfoodservice.com/your-channel/k-12/k- 12-resources , for a prime example. It’s time to think outside the box when it comes to nutrition education. With a proper understanding of good nutrition, in general, and nutrient density in particular, your customers will be able to make more informed decisions on the food they eat.
potato processing. The equipment was poorly designed, with hard-to- clean corners. How to Address this Persistent Problem The CDC investigated 23 multistate outbreaks in 2018, according to The Washington Post . That was the largest number in 12 years. However, it isn’t clear whether we’re seeing more incidents of foodborne illness because of improved surveillance, quicker reporting, and advanced measurement technologies, or because there actually are more outbreaks. The CDC’s FoodNet did find that, in 2018, “Compared with 2015–2017, the incidence significantly increased for Cyclospora (399 percent), Vibrio (109 percent), Yersinia (58 percent), STEC (26 percent), Campylobacter (12 percent), and Salmonella (9 percent).” 3
Photo courtesy CDC.gov
1 Sandra Hoffmann, “Cost Estimates of Foodborne Illnesses,” USDA, Economic Research Service, March 2022. https://data.nal.usda.gov/dataset/cost-estimates-foodborne-illnesses. 2 Cathy Siegner, “Foodborne illnesses are on the rise, CDC finds,” FoodDive , April 29, 2019. www.fooddive.com/news/foodborne-illnesses-are-on-the-rise-cdc-finds/553585 Accessed: July 28, 2022. 3 “Foodborne Illness is On the Rise, Says CDC,” FoodSafety Magazine , April 26, 2019. www.food-safety.com/articles/6197-foodborne-illness-is-on-the-rise-says-cdc Accessed: July 28, 2022. 4 Matt Regusci, “The Costs Of Food Safety: Correction vs. Prevention,”ASI Food Safety, January 7, 2022 https://foodsafetytech.com/column/the-costs-of-food-safety-correction-vs-prevention/ The USDA Agricultural Research Service has made its decision clear. It has dedicated 2,000 scientists and post-doctorates, 6,000 additional employ- ees, 90-plus research locations, and a $1.5 billion fiscal year budget to food safety research. And companies are investing in high-tech equip- ment and advanced scientific analytics to prevent foodborne illness, too. Mike Taylor, co-chairman of the nonprofit organization, Stop Foodborne Illness, reminds us that the food delivery industry stands on five pillars. They are, “farms; processing; transportation and storage; retail; and consumers.” In his view, everyone is equally responsible for food safety, and for preventing foodborne illnesses. That seems to be a point of view that is growing in the industry. The key issue is, how should the foodservice industry address this persistent problem? You won’t find total agreement on this question. Some entities believe in the proactive approach of using preventive practices. Others are choosing to use corrective actions, after the fact. “Basically, the prevention group is constantly improving their food safety practices to minimize foodborne illness while the correction group waits until there is an outbreak to make changes.” 4
Chef Cameron is new to Tyson Foodservice, and has been working with the K-12 team for about a year now. He has almost 20 years of experience in foodservice operations, ranging from healthcare, to contract foodservice, to independent restaurants. “As a father of three I enjoy using global flavors, as well as familiar dishes to keep things fun and interesting for my girls at the dinner table!”
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