Family Sanitation - Preparing and Protecting Food

You will learn to properly handle and prepare food in order to reduce germs and the spread of disease.

 

Objective:

Family will prepare and protect food to prevent health problems.

Lesson Preparation

Have the following items for use in the lesson:

1. Water, soap, chlorine bleach, basins, and towels.

2. A magnifying glass.

3. Fruits and vegetables to be washed and sanitized, including one to be dirtied for the introduction.

4. Protection for food-container with a cover (Show iceless refrigerator or other cooling method, if desired.)

Concepts to be Taught:

Wash and sanitize your hands before preparing food. Clean fruits, vegetables, and other food well before eating. Protect clean food you have prepared from getting dirt or germs on it.

Click on the magnifying glass of any image for enlargement.

Introduction:

Take a piece of fruit or vegetable that is usually eaten with the peel or skin on it and make it look very dirty. Put dirt on it, add small pieces of paper, small sketches or insects or whatever. Ask: Would you like to eat this the way it is? Why or why not? Explain that even thought the food we eat may look clean, it actually may be this dirty if we could see all the very small particles that are on unwashed food. Dirt like this can get on foods from the market, from the fields, or from our very own hands.

Concept #1:

Wash and sanitize your hands before preparing food.

Ask: What things do you touch with your hands during the day? Yourself, other people, children, animals, tools, food, things we are cleaning, dirt, etc. What happens to your hands as you touch these items? (They pick up small germs or dirt that stays on our skin or under the nails.)

Our hands, busy in the work of the day, pick up dirt and germs. Have family members look at their hands under a magnifying glass to see where dirt and germs can hide on their skin. They can be easily cleaned so that we do not continue to spread dirt and germs. A good way to clean our hands is with soap and water. If the hands are very dirty, they can be scrubbed with a small brush, especially under the fingernails and in the folds of skin.

To make sure the hands are clean, rinse them in a sanitizing solution of one teaspoon of chlorine bleach to one liter of water. This is the same solution to use for sanitizing dishes but is stronger than for drinking water. (This is the measurement for 4-6% sodium hypochlorite bleach, for 1% bleach use 5 teaspoons per liter.) If the chlorine smell fades in the sanitizing solution after a few days, add more chlorine.

Washing hands like this will remove danger of spreading germs in most cases. However, if you have a cut or infection of your hands, you should not prepare food as it could spread germs to other family members. Also if you have a cold or any secretion coming out of your nose, be careful not to transfer this to the food.

Learning Activity #1:

After family members have looked at their hands with the magnifying glass, have them wash their hands and rinse using the sanitizing solution. Look at hands again with the magnifying glass.

Concept #2:

Clean fruits, vegetables, and other foods that you bring into your home well.

Food that is sold in the market has been touched by many people as it was picked and brought to the market. As it sat in the market, there were also many chances for it to come in contact with germs and insects. Therefore, foods should be washed and cleaned properly when they are brought home.

• Smooth-skinned fruits and vegetables: Wash in water with soap and rinse in a sanitizing solution. They can be cooked or eaten raw.

• Fruits and vegetables to be cooked or peeled: Wash them first in water with soap, and rinse in sanitizing solution to keep dirt from spreading to other foods.

• Fruits and vegetables with rough textures: Vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, and fruits such as strawberries and other berries, have small indentations and spaces that trap dirt and germs. It is best to wash these and cook them to kill the germs.

• Meats: All meats must be cooked before eating. Pork needs to be cooked especially well to prevent illness. Raw chicken can spread germs in the kitchen so things that come in contact with it such as cutting boards and knives must be cleaned well.

• Eggs: Eggshells can spread germs so they should be washed before storage. (They will stay longer with a thin layer of cooking oil on them.) Always cook eggs before eating them.

Learning Activity #2:

Practice washing and caring for foods from the market properly.

Concept #3:

Protect clean food you have prepared from getting dirt or germs on it again.

Figure #1

Figure #2

Figure #3

Flies and other insects can spread germs to food that has already been washed or prepared. They can do this by carrying germs from all the places they have landed on during the day. Ask: If you were a fly, where might you go during the day? Show Pictures #1-3 and have family describe places they have seen flies. Flies are attracted by the smell of food and food scraps. Protect food from flies by covering it whenever possible, during storage, while cooking and eating food.

Temperature is important in keeping foods free from germs. As long as foods are cooked and kept above 55 degrees C, they are safe from germs. As the food cools, germs from the air or dust or insects can multiply and cause food to be unsafe. Leftover food should be covered and kept below 4 degrees C. This can be done through mechanical or iceless refrigerator or ice or cold water. Be especially careful of foods made with milk, meat, and eggs. Keep the kitchen clean by covering and removing scraps and cleaning up spilled food.

Learning Activity #3:

Family should think about foods they commonly eat, how they currently store them and what they do with them after they are cooked. They can evaluate what they do now and any changes they may need to make.

Review:

Review the concepts of the lesson including washing hands, washing and cooking foods properly and storing foods properly.

Figure #4

Figure #5

Figure #6

Figure #7

Figure #8

Figure #9

Show Pictures #4-9.

List of figures for lesson 6.2

(Click on the numbered links below to view and print full-sized figures)

1. Flies travel to many places during the day. For example, on the garbage, dirty dishes, and food spills.

2. Around animals and their manure,

3. And around food to be served.

4. To protect ourselves from germs carried by flies and from things we touch, we need to always wash our hands with soap and

5. Rinse with a sanitizing solution.

6. Fruits and vegetables from the market or garden need to be cared for because they may have germs. They need to be washed in soap and water, and be rinsed in a sanitizing solution.

7. Food needs to be cared for once it is prepared.

8. Scraps and trash need to be put in a container with a lid and kept away from the house.

9. Food needs to be covered with lid, cloth, or kept in a cupboard. Cooked food needs to be kept as cool as possible.

Top