No matter how careful you are, foodborne bacteria can find a way into your child’s lunch and make him or her sick. Symptoms can include diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever. Children are often among the most vulnerable, and in some cases, illnesses can lead to hospitalization, long-term health complications and even death.
Using safe food-handling practices, such as keeping food refrigerated, cooking it to proper temperature and washing hands and utensils while preparing food at home can help minimize the growth and spread of contamination. However, safe handling alone doesn’t always eliminate bacteria that may already exist in food when it comes from the field or processing facility.
That’s why a prevention-based food safety system outlined in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act is key to effectively reducing risks. But it needs to be fully implemented to work.
Check out the interactive sandwich below to learn more about which dangerous bacteria can pose a threat, and urge the White House to finalize the new regulations as soon as possible, so we can ensure a safer food supply – and sandwich – for all Americans.
While it might take time before we can evaluate the impact of the new standards, which won’t take effect until September 2014, we can look at what we already know to assess them in comparison to the current status quo. The first hint of the new regulation’s potential comes from the Pew Charitable Trusts Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, showing that children and teens gained less weight over three years if they lived in a state with strong policies on school snacks than if they lived in a state without such standards.
In January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) into law, signaling the first major update to our nation’s food safety oversight framework since the Great Depression. Despite widespread support for the legislation and its implementation, the Obama administration still has not issued all of the proposed rules under FSMA.
The Pew Charitable Trusts applauds Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for her efforts to strengthen food safety protections under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and provide grant funding to help school cafeterias across the nation upgrade their equipment to serve healthy, appealing meals to millions of school children. Funding for both programs was included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
"Being a Minnesotan, Jeff Almer searched for a polite term to describe how he feels about a congressional push to roll back the new food safety laws his family fought for when his elderly mother died after eating salmonella-laced peanut butter in late 2008."
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods project, discusses the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
The Obama administration on Thursday released long-awaited nutrition standards for foods that schoolchildren can buy outside the cafeteria, changes that are intended to combat climbing childhood obesity rates.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set new nutrition standards for food sold as snacks in schools, giving fruit and vegetable shippers opportunities for vending machines and snack bars. After considering nearly 250,000 comments, the agency on June 27 published the regulation, called “Smart Snacks in Schools,” also known as the “competitive snacks” rule, for junk food that competes with healthier lunch menus.
"Minnesota schools are adjusting after the USDA issued new guidelines on the amount of fat and calories contained in snacks made available in lunchrooms. The guidelines are related to the school lunch changes that went into effect last year that cut calories, fat and sodium on kids’ plates. They’ll now include snacks, sides, and everything else in school."
"Children consume as many as half their daily calories in school, where they spend more time than any location except their homes, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, which underwrites food safety programs. Studies show snacks add 112 calories to the average elementary-school student’s daily diet, and those who live in states with strong snack policies gain less weight over three years than those without regulations."
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, speaks to the Washington Post about the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
Education Week interviews Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project about the USDA's decision to finalize interim rules on snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, issued the following statement regarding the interim final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, setting nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in U.S. schools. More info
Although some states and districts have created standards for what can be sold as snacks and beverages in schools, the USDA hasn’t updated national guidelines in over 30 years. An infographic recently released by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project summarizes research that supports the need for national nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold in schools.
