Education @ school

Learning to Keep Food Safe: a guide for educators

Food safety for life

Summer is a high-risk time for foodborne illness, but they can strike at any time of year. Good food handling practices are essential. Giving children a few food safety tips will set them up with great food handling skills for life and can help reduce New Zealand's high rate of foodborne illness. There are an estimated 200,000 cases of foodborne illness in New Zealand each year, with around 40% believed to be caused by improper food handling in the home.

Learning intentions

  • identify and adopt safe food handling practices
  • explain the effects of foodborne illness
  • knowing how safe food handling practices contribute to a safer community
  • researching, describing and implementing a programme of safe food handling in the school and community. Links to: Oral Language, Technology, Science.

Health and Physical Education Curriculum

  • strands: Healthy Communities and Environments, Personal Health and Physical Development  

Skills used and developed

Study Skills, Cooperative Skills, Problem Solving Skills.

Setting the Scene

When introducing the topic to your students you can:

  • have a group discussion with your class on their ideas about 'food safety' or 'safe food'
  • have individuals or groups research food safety or foodborne illness online. Some good sites include:

New Zealand Food Safety Authority

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Institute of Environmental Science and Research

Food Safety Project, Iowa State University Extension

USDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition -for kids, teens and educators 

  • have a group discussion about foodborne illnesses. What are they? Do any children know someone who's had a foodborne illness? What was it like?
Have a Foodsafe Day

Foodsafe Week for 2010 is 8-14 November, and a great way to teach kids about food safety is to have a Foodsafe Day during that week. A Foodsafe Day provides a good opportunity for your students to learn food safety and show off their food handling knowledge with fun educational activities.  

Activity Ideas
  • Have children think about places and situations where food safety and handling is important; Picnics, BBQs, in the kitchen, lunch boxes, parties.
  • Create a scenario around one of these situations, for example: "You and your family are having a BBQ at the beach. How will you keep food safe?".
  • Have groups act this out as a mini drama followed by class discussion of the safe food handling practice demonstrated. 
  • Have a health professional speak about foodborne illness. 
  • Have a lunch box inspection and discuss food handling tips for lunches. 
  • Make a Foodsafe snack with the class, following the four Cs. 
  • Host a Foodsafe lunch and invite parents and caregivers. 

Distribute Freddie's Foodsafe checklists for students to take home, work through with their parents and bring back.

Resources

There are a range of resources available from our Resources & downloads page.

FBI Case File Resource

This is a classroom activity which includes three pull-up flat stands that replicate a 'food safety crime scene'. The stands can be set up in a classroom or library and students can solve the crimes with the help of clues in the FBI case file booklet. The clues revolve around the 4Cs food safety message (clean, cook, cover, chill) and hand hygiene. The stands can be booked on a 2 week rotational basis by contacting amy.baldacchino@nzfsa.govt.nz or ring 04 894 2526. There is a free resource. 

FBI case file image

Additional Resources

'At home and shopping - Your Guide to Food Safety' fact sheet from the Victorian Department of Human Services food safety website. The webpage also contains download versions of the fact sheet in English and 23 other languages. http://www.health.vic.gov.au/foodsafety/athome.htm 
 
Request educational material here: To encourage and reward your students for learning about and demonstrating Foodsafe behaviour, we are pleased to supply teachers with a selection of FREE prizes for your class, including balloons, stickers, and magnets. Printed copies of the posters and pamphlets for the classroom and for sending home are also available. To receive copies of these, please email and ask for an order form.