|
|
Reducing the Risk of Food-borne Illness in Children
| Name | Marlyne R. Walker | | Situation | Each year in the United States, many millions of people suffer from mild to life-threatening symptoms caused by food-borne illness. An estimated 76 million people became ill from foodborne illness and about 5,000 of them died. Young children are at the highest risk for food-borne illness and its complications such as blood poisoning, kidney disease, seizures, strokes, heart complications and death. In 2000, Economics Research Service (ERS) estimated the cost from five bacterial food-borne pathogens
as $9.6 billion per year. The costs included medical costs, productivity losses, and costs of premature deaths from food-borne illness. The annual turnover rate for child care workers is 40% which is indicative of the potential for food safety problems and the need for ongoing high quality training programs. Eighty-three percent of child care workers earn less than eight dollars an hour - making it difficult for child care workers to pay out of pocket to attend the necessary child care training. | | Response | The County Agent pooled resources with Newberry County First Steps and Newberry County Adult Education to provide food safety training for child care providers that fulfills state requirement for licensure and enables child care providers in Newberry County not only to maintain their jobs, but also to provide safer environments for the children in their care. The
agent collaborated with Newberry Adult Education and Newberry County First Steps targeting child care providers and teachers in Newberry County. The agent provided 3 credit hours in Serving Safe Foods for Young Children. The major purpose of the training was to teach the importance of cleanliness in food handling, identify hazards that can occur at various stages during storing, preparing and serving foods and steps to eliminate hazards. Newberry County First Steps sponsored child care career development workshops/training and advertised Food Safety Training in the First Step Notes (newsletter) and two training cycles were planned
during the year. The training was free for all child care providers in
Newberry County. Newberry County Adult Education secured registration for the training via mailings, telephone contacts and/or face to face visits. | | Impact | Thirty-two child care providers completed 3 credit hours for Serving Safe Foods for Young Children during the first cycle, impacting 5 child care centers affecting 347 children preschool. After the training, 89.3% participants of child care providers increased their knowledge of food safety and 100% of the participants increased commitment to handling food safely. |
Last update8/15/2007
This website is maintained by Bryan Smith.
|
