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Safe and Secure Food and Fiber Systems
Arizona's Statewide Food Safety Program
Issue
Foodborne illness and death continue to occur in Arizona. The Arizona
Department of Health Services reported more than 2039 cases in 2000.
The Centers for Disease Control estimate that only 10 percent of all
cases are even reported. The 2000 FDA report on food safety stated that
between 6.5 and 8.1 million cases of foodborne illness and as many as
5000 related deaths occur each year in the United States. Experts believe
that the risk of foodborne illness is increasing due to changes in the
food supply system; an increase in group feeding; an increase in the
number of people at greatest risk of foodborne illness- elderly, children
and people with suppressed immune systems; changes in pathogens and
new resistant strains; and new modes of transmission of pathogens. An
interdisciplinary, research-based approach to education is needed on
the issues affecting the safety and quality of the food supply from
the farm to the table.
What has been done?
Safe Food 2010 is a multi-year project focusing on education in food
safety with the general public, school food service staffs, group home
staffs, food banks and other community groups. The ultimate goal is
to reduce foodborne illness in Arizona and to increase safe food handling
practices, from the field to the consumer's plate. The program uses
a broad array of both written information and workshops delivered in
several counties in Arizona. Workshops include Master Consumer Adviser
volunteer training, food safety education classes, EFNEP (Extension
Food and Nutrition Education Program) classes, Safe Food Handling for
the Occasional Quantity Cook, and a biennial Food Safety from the Farm
to the Table Conference. Information services include 800-number food
safety hotlines, weekly news columns on food safety in a Phoenix area
newspaper, and Safe Food Weeks, when food safety information packets
are delivered to print and broadcast media for dissemination to the
public.
Impact
More than 2000 low income families annually have attended EFNEP classes
in Arizona. Of these, 93 percent have made positive changes in their
food behaviors, and 52 percent improved safe food practices, according
to follow-up surveys. Safe food practices result in reduced medical
costs and fewer lost work days. Similar results occurred with school
and institutional food service staffs. In a six-month follow-up survey
with participants, 95 percent reported improvement in at least one safe
food practice due to the training, with a 30 percent increase in safe
food practices. These changes affected more than 200,000 children or
at-risk adults. As the program spreads, the total potential number of
elementary students affected by food lunch practices in Arizona would
be more than 562,000 children. Food service personnel are constantly
changing, so ongoing education is critical. Extension volunteers and
staff have trained more than 300 community quantity cooks in safety
practices. Participants report adding new safe practices to their quantity
meals with church members, fund-raising dinners and homeless outreach.
Reported cases of foodborne illness in Arizona declined from 5200 in
1995 to 2039 in 2000.
Conference feedback: 150 Safe Food 2002 conference participants rated
the conference general and concurrent sessions 4.5 out of 5 as high.
Twenty-six people who had attended in 2001 reported they had shared
the information with 5400 additional people. Survey data from previous
Safe Food Conferences showed that 84 percent had used the Safe food
2000 conference information and materials at work or home; 84 percent
said the conference helped them update their current job skills; 72
percent had shared information with co-workers and 46 percent shared
information with people they taught or trained.
Funding
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
Staff time: Maricopa, La Paz and Yavapai County Department of Environmental
Health,
Arizona Department of Health Services Arizona Department of Agriculture
USDA-CSREES,
Industry supporters
Staff time: Food banks, restaurant industry, Intertribal Council, local
grocery representatives,
Arizona Beef Council, Arizona Gleaning, parish ministry and social service
organizations
Contact
Sharon Hoelscher-Day, Extension Educator
University of Arizona, Maricopa County Cooperative Extension
4341 E. Broadway, Phoenix, AZ 85040-8807
Telephone: (602) 470-8086 FAX: (602) 470-8092
Email: shday@ag.arizona.edu
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