DATE:   7/23/99
WRITER: Bill Baker, (864) 656-3875

Food Safety is a Clemson Priority

     CLEMSON -- Consumers are bombarded with food safety
information every day through newspapers, magazines and
television. The headlines are familiar, unsettling and seemingly
never-ending. Contaminated luncheon meat in Michigan causes 16
deaths. Strawberries imported from Mexico cause an outbreak of 
illness in several states. Hamburgers containing E. coli bacteria
are sold by a fast-food franchise in the Northwest.
     This kind of news not only frightens consumers but can
plunge a food processor or producer into economic chaos.
     While the food supplies in South Carolina and the nation are
among the safest in the world, the numbers show there is still a
need for improvement. Foodborne illness hits between 3.3 and 12.3 
million Americans each year, kills around 3,900, and costs an
estimated $35 billion in medical expenses and loss of production.
     What makes people sick is not what a lot of people worry
about - pesticides and environmental contaminants - but simple
microbes such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter,
Staphylococcus and less famous cousins such as Shigella, several
Vibrio species and other bacteria. 
     If the headlines raise questions about the safety of the
food we feed our families, our own hectic lifestyles raise just 
as many. In 1995, Americans spent 25 percent of their food budget
on food eaten away from home. Last year, we spent 51 percent in
restaurants and at takeout windows. We rely more than ever on the
judgment and knowledge of others to ensure safe food for our
families.
     When we do eat at home, we're spending less time and care
preparing the meal, and relying more and more on prepackaged
foods. Food industry research reveals that consumers want recipes
with no more than four to six ingredients and that require no
more than 20 minutes to prepare. The same research shows that our
kids are doing more of the cooking at home. 
     Translating these food safety concerns into wise choices is
difficult. Deciding who and what to believe is a confusing and 
frustrating process. These challenges call for creative 
educational solutions such as those provided by the educators,
researchers, Extension specialists and Extension agents at
Clemson University.
     Clemson has been educating South Carolina consumers on food
safety issues for nearly a century. By 1911, it was not unusual
to see a horse-drawn buggy driven by a home demonstration agent
swathed in a linen duster headed toward a local farm where she
would train the women of the community in the art of safe food 
preservation and production. 
     The subsequent home demonstration clubs, 4-H clubs and 
related programs helped South Carolinians survive, and even
prosper, through two world wars and the Great Depression.
     More recently, the Clemson Board of Trustees has approved a
list of five priorities for outreach activities at the
university. One of the five is the area of food safety and
nutrition. No other land grant institution has developed a
concise list of goals with the approval of its board to help
guide it in its mission.
     The modern Clemson Extension food agent has replaced the
horse and buggy with a range of options for meeting the
educational needs of South Carolina consumers - local workshops,
television and radio programming, print publications, Internet
websites and even videoconferences conducted via satellite that
allow them to reach consumers worldwide. These efforts are 
spearheaded by Extension agents in each of South Carolina's 46
counties.
     The Extension agent has been augmented by a variety of other
Clemson programs that enhance food safety:
     * Clemson's Livestock-Poultry Health Program helps protect
the health of both humans and animals. In addition, the program
protects the state's livestock, poultry and companion industry,
an industry now measured in the billions.
     * The Department of Pesticide Regulation, one of Clemson's
Regulatory and Public Service Programs, helps ensure that pesticides
are used correctly so that residues pose no threat to
human health. Growers must be trained and licensed by the
department before they can purchase and use restricted-use
pesticides.
     * 4-H Food and Nutrition Programs such as the "Breads
Workshop" and "Eggonomics" receive industry support and help
youth develop better nutrition and food-handling skills. "Global
Food Web" programs involve teens in learning about food and food
systems.
     * A rapid response system, utilizing Extension's electronic
communication network, is in place to quickly alert the news
media and the county Extension offices of pending food safety
issues.
     * The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service is
the only source in the state from which consumers can get
up-to-date, reliable information on the safe handling and
preservation of food at home. Canning, freezing and storage of
food are critical issues making this a major programming
component.
     * Clemson scientists are developing new food packaging
alternatives, including edible packaging and food packaging films
that protect consumers from meat-borne bacteria, such as E. coli.
They are also analyzing the active ingredients in herbal
medicines - ginkgo, echinacea and St. John's Wort - and have
discovered a promising new treatment for acne while investigating
natural food preservatives.
                            END