Food Safety

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that each year one in six Americans get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne illness. The overall cost to the public is high, with the estimated economic cost of foodborne illness approximately $77.7 billion dollars per year, or approximately $1,626 per foodborne illness case. The top factors which contribute to foodborne illness are: inadequate cooking, improper holding temperatures, contaminated equipment, poor personal hygiene, and food from unsafe sources. Safe food handling and preparation by food handlers can dramatically reduce illness and health costs. Virginia Cooperative Extension offers food safety trainings, including:

• ServSafe Manager and Food Handler Trainings
• Rules to Reality: A virtual, self-paced food safety training focused on FSMA’s Produce Safety Rule
• Are you a member of an organization that prepares and serves food to the public or your members? Is selling food a fundraising event for your organization? Cooking for Crowds is a workshop that teaches food safety and how your organization can ensure the safe handling of food. Learn how to handle food during cooking and serving and the food safety standards for temporary events.

Please contact Lenah Nguyen at lgeer@vt.edu or 540-727-3435 to schedule a Cooking for Crowds Workshop for your organization.