August 24, 2005

FDA Launches New Education Campaign:
Food Safety for Moms-to-Be

As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) ongoing commitment to educate expectant mothers about the potential risks of foodborne illness, the agency is launching a new bilingual public health education campaign entitled Food Safety for Moms-to-Be.

This broad education campaign in English and Spanish features a new comprehensive website and an educator's kit for healthcare professionals designed to educate pregnant and soon-to-be pregnant women about the food safety risks of Listeria monocytogenes, Methylmercury, and Toxoplasma.

The easily-navigated website offers food safety information for women before, during, and after pregnancy, including timely, seasonal articles on food safety and health tips. The site also offers women's health educators and medical professionals an educational online toolkit with:

• Downloadable Educator's Resource Guide
• Downloadable PowerPoint presentation
• Downloadable and printable handouts, poster, and flyer
• Video
• Links to other FDA and CDC sites on folic acid, food safety, baby food preparation and storage, etc.

In addition to addressing the food safety risks of Listeria, Methylmercury, and Toxoplasma, the kits also provides information for expecting mothers on basic preventive steps known as: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill, to reduce the spread of potentially harmful germs. This approach is based on the premise that educating pregnant and soon-to-be pregnant women about safe food selection, storage, preparation, and cleanliness can reduce the opportunity for foodborne illness to occur.