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| Script: Safe After School
Snacks |
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Intro:
Welcome to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service “Food Safety
At Home” podcast series, featuring topics for the safe handling,
preparation and storage of meat, poultry and processed egg products.
Host:
Welcome to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food
Safety at Home podcast series.
I am Felicia Thompson with the Food Safety & Inspection Service
and will be your host for this segment.
Laura and Rose from a local elementary school are with us today
to discuss safe after school snacks.
Thank you both for joining us today!
Laura:
Thanks, I am excited to be here!
Rose:
Me, too!
Host:
Great! Let’s talk about after school snacks. What snacks do you
usually have after school?
Laura:
My friends and I have all different kinds of snacks after
school. Some eat fruits, vegetables and potato chips; and the
others will have hot pockets, chicken fingers and pizza for
snacks.
Rose:
Yes, we also have cookies! (beaming)
Host:
When it comes to preparing snacks, do you practice food safety?
Laura and Rose:
Yes, we do!
Host:
How?
Rose:
We just follow the four easy steps – Laura, you ready?
Laura:
Yes!
Rose and Laura:
Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill!
Rose:
The first step is to Clean. You have to wash hands, utensils,
and cutting boards before and after contact with raw meat,
poultry, fish and eggs.
Laura:
I always count up to twenty while washing my hands with soapy
water! My friends like to sing the birthday song when they wash
their hands.
You should also wash your hands after playing with our pets or
using the bathroom!
Rose:
Don’t forget… You could use a hand sanitizer or disposable wipes
if you are not near a sink.
The next step is to Separate. Keep raw meat and chicken apart
from foods that won’t be cooked.
Laura:
Raw meat and chicken should not be in the same area where the
cooked food is.
Now, the third step is to Cook.
Use a food thermometer when you cook, because you can’t tell
food is cooked safely by the way it looks!
Rose:
Yes, we learned by visiting the Is It Done Yet? Web site. It
tells you that food needs to be cooked to a different safe
minimum internal temperature. You can look the temperatures up
at www.isitdoneyet.gov.
Laura:
Yes, and they even show you how to use a thermometer! It also
says it doesn’t matter if you cook food in the oven, on top of a
stove, or in a microwave oven. You have to make sure all cooked
foods reach a safe minimum internal temperature to kill any
harmful bacteria that could make you sick.
Host:
Why don’t you give me an example?
Rose:
Well, if there is meat in my snack, I always make sure to reheat
it until it reaches the safe minimum internal temperature of 165
⁰F before I eat it. I always use a food thermometer to check the
temperature. My parents taught me how to use it!
Laura:
Yes, my parents keep several food thermometers in the drawer
next to the stove, so it makes it easier for me to find one
whenever I need it.
Host:
Wow, that’s a great idea! What is the fourth step?
Rose:
The fourth step is to Chill. If we have leftovers, we put them
in shallow containers and put them in the refrigerator
immediately.
Laura:
We also follow the 2 Hour Rule. Throw away any perishable food
that can rot such as meat, chicken, soft cheeses and eggs if
they’ve been sitting out at room temperature longer than 2
hours, 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F.
Rose:
Yes, we learned the dangerous bacteria grow faster in the
temperatures between 40°F and 140°F! It’s called the “Danger
Zone.”
Laura:
Eww!
Oh, if we know we are going to stay after school, we always make
cold snacks the night before with help from our parents. We put
ice gel packs in the freezer the night before and use them to
keep food cold during the day at school.
Rose:
Oh, if we don’t have an ice gel pack to keep our snacks and
sandwiches cold, we pack a frozen juice box to keep sandwiches
and snacks really cold!
Laura:
That’s so cool! You can use insulated containers to keep hot
snacks hot at 140 °F or above.
Host:
Wow. Thanks for the great information! That’s all for today. For
those listening in (or watching), you can download and print the
brochure at www.fsis.usda.gov!
Host:
Thanks for joining us today for another episode of “Food Safety
At Home”. For answers to your food safety questions, call USDA’s
toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHOTLINE. That is
1-888-674-6854. You can also get answers to food safety
questions online from our virtual representative, Ask Karen, at
www.askkaren.gov.
Let us know what you think of this podcast by sending your
comments to
podcast@fsis.usda.gov. Thanks for tuning in.
And remember, Be Food Safe!
Outro:
Thanks for listening to this Food Safety At Home podcast. Let
us know what you think of this podcast by sending your comments
to
podcast@fsis.usda.gov.
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Last Modified: October 6, 2010 |
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