FDA/CFSAN Food Safety Constituent Update: July 19, 2002 Hispanic Initiative on Food Safety Education 2002 Professional Development Program in Food Science for Science Teachers Begins

July 19, 2002

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Hispanic Initiative on Food Safety Education 2002 Professional Development Program in Food Science for Science Teachers Begins

Hispanic Initiative on Food Safety Education

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), has initiated a campaign to educate Hispanic consumers concerning the safe handling of foods through participation in the Radio Unica Health Fairs.

Radio Unica is a leading source of news, sports, information and entertainment radio programming for the U.S. Hispanic market. It reaches 80% of Hispanics in the USA through its group of owned and/or operated stations and affiliates nationwide. Radio Unica is built around the drawing power of established Spanish-language broadcasting celebrities. The network's programming schedule consists of contemporary-themed talk shows and commentaries hosted by internationally known recognized Hispanic Radio Unica personalities.

Radio Unica is hosting ten Hispanic Health fairs in areas with a high density Hispanic presence. CFSAN will use the Radio Unica Health Fairs to address the needs of our Hispanic customer group and to arm the Hispanic consumer with simple lifesaving information and life-long habits related to food safety. Radio Unica estimates attendance at each of the health fairs to be approximately 3,000-5,000 participants. The Health Fairs will be held on Sundays and will be set-up in Wal-Mart Parking Lots.

The schedule for Radio Unica Health Fairs follows:

Event Locations (Wal-Mart) and Dates

8333 Van Nuys Blvd, Panorama City, Los Angeles, California - July 21, 2002

30600 Dyer Street, Union City, California (San Francisco Area) - July 28, 2002

5125 E. Kings Canyon Road, Fresno, California - August 4, 2002

4001 N. 23rd Street, McAllen, Texas - August 11, 2002

910 SE Military Drive, San Antonio, Texas - August 18, 2002

1107 So. Shaver Street, Pasadena, Texas (Houston Area) - August 25, 2002

2020 North 75^th Ave, Phoenix, Arizona - September 22, 2002

9300 NW 77th Street, Hialeah Gardens, Florida (Miami Area) - September 29, 2002

7050 S. Cicero Avenue, Bedford Park, Illinois (Chicago Area) - October 6, 2002

1123 Jerusalem Ave, Uniondale, New York - October 13, 2002

For Additional Information, contact Irma Robison (Irma.Robison@cfsan.fda.gov).

2002 Professional Development Program in Food Science for Science Teachers Begins

The FDA-National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) 2002 Professional Development Program in Food Science began the week of July 15th with 25 middle level science teachers arriving in Washington, DC. This program, now in its third year, provides teachers with an opportunity to learn skills and update knowledge of food science and food safety to better prepare them to use the FDA-NSTA supplementary food science curriculum, Science and Our Food Supply.

The science teachers, representing urban, suburban and rural schools come from as far away as the Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and as nearby as Bethesda, Maryland. The teachers will spend six days in the program. The first day is a crash course in food science and food microbiology. Day 2 finds the teachers at the University of Maryland, College Park, learning the basics of laboratory procedures and beginning work on the experiments contained in the curriculum. Then it's off to learn about food safety on the farm with a tour of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center on Day 3. On Day 4, the science teachers tour a seafood processing plant to learn firsthand about the food safety system called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, and then back to the University of Maryland to see the results of experiments begun on Day 2. CFSAN hosts the science teachers on Day 5 with a tour of the new laboratory facilities in College Park, as well as presentations on foodborne illness epidemiology and outbreak investigations, investigations of new pathogens, and an overview of the resources of the Foodborne Illness Education and Information Center. The program concludes on Day 6 with the teachers taking on the role of students by completing the classroom activities.

Mary Jo Nath is a rural middle school science teacher from Mitchell, South Dakota. She finds her 200 sixth-grade students have responsibilities at home that include preparing food for themselves and their families. "This program will help them understand the relationship between science and food safety," she says. Judy King-Edmeade, teaches 1,000 sixth and seventh grade students at a large urban school in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. She hopes to spread the food safety message beyond her students, however, through a half-hour television show she hosts on the Public Broadcasting Station called, "The Teacher is In."

Beginning the week of July 29, the Professional Development Program in Food Science will be provided to 25 high school science teachers.


Food Safety Initiative Staff E-mail: chall@cfsan.fda.gov	Office Number: (301) 436-2428 · FAX (301) 436-2605 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/

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