Health and Fitness : Teach Kids to be Food Safe

Rachel Wall The kitchen is often the first place children go when they get home from school, but it’s not always the safest place. Millions of children become ill from the food they eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes these recommendations: 1. Place books, bookbags, and sporting equipment on the floor, not on kitchen counters or table where germs could be transferred. 2. Empty out lunch boxes and throw away perishable sandwiches or other “refrigerator type” foods, such as yogurt tubes or cheese sticks, left over from lunch. Be sure to clean your lunch box with warm, soapy water and rinse well. 3. Wash your hands before you make or eat a snack. 4. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables with running tap water before you eat them. 5. Do not leave cold items, like milk, lunchmeat, hardcooked eggs, or yogurt out on the counter. Put these foods back in the refrigerator as soon as you’ve fixed your snack. Do not eat any perishable food that has been left out of the refrigerator for 2 hours. For more information visit: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Food_Safety_ AFter_School/index.asp -------- (e-mail: wallr@iastate.edu, website: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/families/) and phone: 319-337-2145)