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Keeping Family Food Safe
One of the best ways to teach food safety to children is to practice safe food handling methods and talk about why they are being practiced, says Terri Miller, University of Wisconsin-Extension Nutrition Education Coordinator serving Vilas, Forest, and Florence Counties. Have conversations about how bacteria are invisible, suggests Miller. You can't smell, see, or taste them; yet they can spread everywhere in your kitchen and can make you very sick.
"Clean" is a food safety priority, says Miller. Teach children to wash their hands after using the bathroom, coughing, sneezing, handling garbage, and playing outside. They should also wash up before eating, and before and after handling or preparing raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood; and whenever they look dirty.
Teach children how to wash their hands. Wet hands, apply soap, rub together vigorously to make a lather for 20 seconds or about the time to sing "Happy Birthday" all the way through - twice! Rinse under running water, dry hands, and use the paper towel to turn off the faucet. Miller suggests using an alcohol-based wipe or hand gel if water is not available.
Wash fresh fruits and vegetables before preparing or eating them. Have your child participate, says Miller, by letting your child scrub the fruits and vegetables. Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water, including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten. Do not use soap, cautions Miller. Scrub firm skin fruits and vegetables, such as oranges and melons, with a vegetable brush before cutting and serving.
Another food safety tip is to separate raw meat, poultry, and fish from other foods. Keep one cutting board for fresh produce and ready-to-eat foods, and one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Wash cutting boards and knives with soap and water to remove bacteria; then rinse with clean water. After cleaning, sanitize cutting boards and food preparation surfaces with a bleach solution: 1 teaspoon bleach in 4 cups water. Keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood wrapped, in sealed containers or plastic bags, and place on a plate or in a bowl so juices won't drip out or drip on other foods.
Cold temperatures keep bacteria from growing and multiplying. Keep refrigerator temperature below 40°F; freezer-below 0°F. Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or microwave oven, not on the counter. Freeze or refrigerate leftovers and other cooked foods within two hours of cooking.
To kill food-borne bacteria that can make you sick, cook food long enough and at a high enough temperature. Cook eggs until yolks and whites are firm. Do not use recipes in which eggs are not cooked and do not let your child taste raw dough that contains eggs. Reheat leftovers to at least 165°F (steaming hot). Be sure your microwaved food has no cold spots. Turn (by hand or turntable) and stir while food cooks.
Children's experiences throughout life shape the way their brains develop. Children who do not receive sufficient appropriate touch are unable to form important neural connections. This leads to their becoming desensitized. Such children, notes Clare, are likely to lack empathy, emotional warmth and the basic ability to engage in normal human adult relationships. They are also more vulnerable to contact involving inappropriate touching because they lack positive touching experiences.
For more information, contact Joan E. LeFebvre, University Extension Family Living Agent serving Vilas, Forest, and Florence Counties, Courthouse, Eagle River, WI 54521, (715-479-3653), e-mail joan.lefebvre@ces.uwex.edu or visit the web site for Parenting the Preschooler.
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