Rebecca Richter, a Consumer and Family Science teacher, instructs her 6th grade students on the importance of safe food handling by empowering them to be food detectives. For years, Rebecca has been showing her students the Food Detectives video because her students can relate to its messages. She bases her lessons on this video, encouraging her students to think like detectives figuring out a foodborne illness outbreak. They even use Fight BAC!® stickers to make sheriff-like stars to deputize themselves. Sometimes, Rebecca says, the students tell HER when she is doing something incorrectly like improperly washing her hands. “They get excited for food safety and they take it home with them,” she says, further explaining that her students usually do not hear about safe food handling until they get to her classroom. Watch out- don’t get stopped by a food detective in Meridian!

Allow us to introduce you to three BAC! Fighters who work hard to teach kids about food safety. We have been hearing from educators about their interest in new and refreshed Fight BAC!® educational material for kids.

Melissa is an enthusiastic middle school teacher from New Mexico that uses Fight BAC!® to make sure her sixth grade students are safe from foodborne illness. Her sixth grade students are like sponges, she says, and would love new materials for her students. Listen here to Melissa!

Devoted community nutrition educator , Denise, from Minnesota, reaches over 500 kids in 3rd to 5th grade with Fight BAC!® materials and is always interested in new, evidence-based material for her students. Hear about Denise’s work in her own words!

Dana, a passionate educator from Texas, uses Fight BAC!® materials in middle and high school because it catches her students’ attention and would like updated materials to keep their interest. Listen to her story with a click here!

Fight BAC!® materials for students have been in the field since 1998.

In response to demonstrated need by educators for new materials for kids, the Partnership is seeking partners for support of a new campaign in 2013- the BAC! Fighters National Youth Campaign.

Please consider making a year-end charitable contribution that supports educators like Melissa, Denise, and Dana in their efforts to end foodborne illness in America. 

Partnership for Food Safety Education

Option 1 $5,000.00 USD Option 2 $2,500.00 USD Option 3 $1,000.00 USD Option 4 $200.00 USD

**To make a corporate or individual contribution by check, please contact Shelley Feist at sfeist at fightbac dot org. Thank you!

Thank you for your support!

Shelley Feist, Executive Director

The Partnership for Food Safety Education was featured in the October/November edition of HGTV Magazine. It may feel wasteful to toss what seems (and smells) like good turkey and stuffing, but Thanksgiving leftovers really should not be kept for a week. Executive Director Shelley Feist explained, "You can't see, smell, or taste E. coli or salmonella and if your food is harboring either bacteria, it could make you sick."

Temperature and time cause bacteria to grow, which is why it is so important your refrigerator be cold enough and you not keep leftovers too long. 

Even when refrigerated properly (at 40 °F), leftovers should be eaten, frozen or discarded within 3 to 4 days.

When heating and storing leftovers keep the following in mind:

• Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly - within 2 hours. Use an appliance thermometer in your refrigerator to ensure your refrigerator is at 40 °F or below.
• Divide leftovers into smaller portions and store in shallow containers in the refrigerator.
 • Reheat cooked leftovers to 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Sauces, soups and gravies should be reheated by bringing them to a boil.
• When microwaving leftovers, make sure there are no cold spots in food (where bacteria can survive). Cover food, stir and rotate for even cooking.

Find turkey tips, shopping lists, kids' activties, and everything else you need for a safe, fun, easy, tasty holiday at Holiday Food Safety.

Led by culinary instructor Valerie Montgomery, W.D. Sugg Middle School in Bradenton, Florida, is initiating a culinary program in middle school (the second of its kind in the state). This program enables their students interested in culinary arts and sciences, hospitality, and tourism to transition into existing high school academies. Food safety education makes up a large portion of their curriculum.