Friday Food Safety Mythbusters #5
FOOD SAFETY MYTH- I eat a vegetarian diet, so I don’t have to worry about food poisoning.
FOOD SAFETY FACTS
FACT- Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, but like other foods, they may carry a risk of foodborne illness. Always rinse produce under running tap water, including fruits and vegetables with skins and rinds that are not eaten. Never use detergent or bleach to wash fresh fruits and vegetables as these products are not intended for consumption. Packaged fruits and vegetables labeled “ready to eat” or “washed” do not need to be rewashed.
For more information about home food handling for September Food Safety Month, check out the fightbac.org website from the Partnership for Food Safety Education.
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
Subscribe to the comments for this postEat dinner with your family tonight
K-State Research and Extension is inviting families to sit down to dinner together tonight.
Extension, the Kansas Family Partnership and Regional Prevention Centers across the state are promoting Family Day to help educate families and create awareness that regular conversations between parents, grandparents, guardians and children are a prevention tool to keep young people safe and help them make good decisions.
Research from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University consistently finds that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Family Day is a nationwide initiative to show that parental engagement is the single most effective way to prevent substance use and abuse among youth. Family Day is celebrated the fourth Monday of each September, making today this year’s celebration September 26, 2011.
Dinner makes a difference
The family dinner doesn’t need to be fancy. It’s the connection, not the menu, that’s important. Just taking time to listen to your child can go a long way in building a positive relationship that could help when they may someday be faced with an offer of drugs or alcohol. Teens who seldom eat with their parents are twice as likely to report that half or more of their friends drink alcohol, compared to teens who have frequent family dinners.
Research shows that a child who gets through age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol or using illegal drugs is virtually certain to never do so.
The Family Day partners are encouraging businesses, faith communities, law enforcement, education centers, schools and community groups to also get involved in promoting and celebrating the Family Day event.
One of the keys of Family Day is letting the child in your life know you love and care about what is going on in their life. No one has more power to prevent kids from abusing alcohol and drugs than you do.
So, tonight, eat dinner with your family. What your kids want- and need- for dinner is YOU.
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
Friday Food Safety Mythbusters #4
FOOD SAFETY MYTH- You should not put hot food into the refrigerator.
FOOD SAFETY FACTS
FACT- Hot food can be placed directly in the refrigerator. A large pot of food like soup or stew should be divided into small portions and put in shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator. If you leave food out to cool and forget about it, then toss it!
Food is not save to eat after sitting out at room temperature for more than two hours. Bacteria grow rapidly in the temperature danger zone between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. Always follow the “two hour rule”- refrigerate perishable foods within two hours to keep it out of the danger zone. And if left out in a room or outdoors where the temperature is 90 degrees or hotter, food should be refrigerated or discarded within just 1 hour.
For more information about home food handling for September Food Safety Month, check out the fightbac.org website from the Partnership for Food Safety Education. Watch for more food safety myths and facts next Friday!
“Knowledge for Life” provided by the Finney County Extension Office and K-State Research and Extension.
“Hold the Mold” Noon Program
Even in the dry climate of southwest Kansas, mold can become a problem if conditions are right.
Join Sheryl Carson, Kearny County Extension Agent, for the Extension program “Hold the Mold– Preventing This Pesky Problem” on Thursday, September 22 at 12:00 noon at the Finney County Extension Office, 501 S. 9th Street on the fairgrounds. Bring a lunch if desired.
Learn about mold in the home, the problems it causes, how to prevent it, and how to eliminate it if it becomes a problem in your home.
Pre-registration is requested by Tuesday, September 20 at the Finney County Extension Office, 620-272-3670. A minimum enrollment is required to hold this class.
Friday Food Safety Mythbusters #3
FOOD SAFETY MYTH- Freezing foods kills harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
FOOD SAFETY FACTS
FACT- Bacteria can survive freezing temperatures. Freezing is not a method for making food safe to eat. When the food is thawed, bacteria can still be present and may begin to multiply. Cooking food to the proper internal temperature is the best way to kill harmful bacteria. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of cooked foods to be sure.
For more information about home food handling for September Food Safety Month, check out the fightbac.org website from the Partnership for Food Safety Education. Watch for more food safety myths and facts next Friday!