Food Safety - Hands on Food

Food Safety Protocols

Following proper food safety protocols is important for preventing the spread of food borne illness and Covid-19. Educators should review the following links and discuss food safe practices at the start of each food lesson.

Food Safety: Easy Ways to Make Food Safer

Caring about Food Safety Mini Course

Allergies, Intolerance, and Anaphylaxis

It's important to be aware of student food allergies and intolerances. It can be very difficult to control cross contamination of foods so special consideration must be given to students with anaphylactic allergies. Discussion with parents is important to determine if it is safe for a child with allergies to participate in food handling activities.

Food Allergy:

Food allergies occur when the body’s immune system reacts to a specific allergen in a food, usually a protein.

Symptoms that could indicate an allergic response are runny or plugged nose, wheezing or coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, hives, eczema and anaphylactic shock.

Food Intolerance:

Intolerances occur when the body does not adequately break down a certain component of food.

The symptoms can be similar to an allergy, but usually the person can tolerate a small amount of the food before symptoms occur.

Common intolerances include lactose, MSG, and artificial food dyes.

Anaphylaxis:

A severe allergic reaction to food that can be life threatening.

Anaphylaxis can occur within minutes or hours of ingesting the food.

Some common signs are sudden development of hives, tingling or itching inside the mouth, coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath, swelling of the face, throat or other parts of the body, runny eyes or nose, dizziness and perhaps loss of consciousness.

Anaphylaxis is a condition that requires immediate medical attention. Call 911 right away.