DATE:    7/25/96
CONTACT: Dr. Rose Davis, (803) 662-3526
WRITER:  Susan Bedingfield, (864) 656-3876

Extension Food Safety Program
Makes School Lunches Safer 

     CLEMSON -- Imagine making sure that over 400,000 children
are safely fed every day.  
     That's exactly the problem school lunch personnel in
92 South Carolina school districts face each work day. But thanks
to a Clemson Extension program, their jobs are a little easier.
     "The Food Safety Project is a continuation of a program that
began by training school food servers in the basics of nutrition
and the needs of children," said Dr. Rose Davis, Extension
nutritionist and one of the coordinators of the project. "We feel
that by teaching school food servers safe food practices we are
helping not only to serve safer food to children, but to also
change children's dietary habits."
     To reach as many schools as possible, 18 school food
supervisors from across the state were certified as instructors
with the National Restaurant Association, and then teamed with
county agents, who are also certified. 
     To become a certified instructor, 16 hours of training in
food safety, four hours of teacher training and a national exam
are required.
     "We teamed agents with the school personnel because they
know the realities of school food preparation," Davis said.  
     When possible, the teams travel to school cafeterias and the
program is taught in the workplace of the students.
     "We found that teaching people in their work environment
works better because they can get hands-on practice on equipment
they will actually be working with," she said.
     The project is funded by a three-year grant from the
Department of Agriculture. In the first year, 13 projects
were set up across the state, and more than 200 school lunch
personnel received the training. 
     In addition to public school system employees, state
Department of Juvenile Justice employees have also gone through
the program, and next year, child-care providers will be
included, Davis said.
     Classroom time consists of seven lessons. Topics include:
food safety hazards, storing food safely, purchasing and
receiving safe food, and regulatory agencies. In addition to
lectures, workbooks and hands-on practice, guest speakers such
as district food supervisors from the state Department of Health
and Environmental Control were included. 
     "I have been in food service for 18 years, and this program
is one of the best I have seen in a long time," said Pat
Holstein, Food Service Supervisor for Lexington County School
District 3 and a program instructor. "I require everyone who 
works for me to take this course, and I would recommend it to
anyone in the food service industry."
                             END