During Kids Eat Right Month™, Teach Kids The Importance Of Food Safety

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods' Home Food Safety 
program offers  information to keep families safe from food poisoning

CHICAGO, July, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Food safety is a serious concern with one
 in six Americans getting sick from food poisoning per year. Young children are
 even more susceptible to food poisoning because their immune systems aren't
 developed enough to fight foodborne infections.
This August, during Kids Eat Right Month™, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
 through its Home Food Safety program, encourages all parents to teach kids
how to reduce their risk of food poisoning at home with four simple steps:
 1) wash, 2) separate, 3) cook and 4) refrigerate.
"Children start forming lifelong habits at a young age, so it is important to
 establish good eating and proper food safety practices early in life,"
says registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy Spokesperson Wesley Delbridge.
 "Teaching good habits at this impressionable age when kids are ready
and eager to learn will start positive lifelong patterns."
The Home Food Safety program is dedicated to raising awareness
 about food poisoning and helping everyone know the basics when
 it comes to safely preparing food at home. Delbridge offers the
 following advice to teach kids how to safely handle food.
1)  Wash: Wash hands for at least 20 seconds.
"Washing hands before and while handling food can prevent nearly
 half of all cases of food poisoning, so it is important to show
children how to correctly wash their hands," says Delbridge.
 "Always use warm, soapy water to wash the front and back
 of hands, between fingers and under fingernails, all the way up
 to the wrist. The "Happy Birthday" song is about 10 seconds
 long, so have kids sing it twice while they lather up to ensure
 they wash for an adequate amount of time."
2)  Separate: Separate raw chicken, meats, fish and eggs from
 ready-to-eat foods like bread and vegetables.
"Cross-contamination occurs when juices from raw meats and
poultry touch ready-to-eat foods, so always use separate
cuttings boards for these different food items," says Delbridge.
 "Buy and use different colored cutting boards to show kids the
importance of separating raw meats and poultry from ready to-eat
 foods. For example, use a green cutting board for vegetables and
 a red one for raw meats."
3)  Cook: Always use a food thermometer to determine if food is
 thoroughly cooked and don't eat raw or undercooked foods.
"One of the most common food safety mistakes is not using a food
 thermometer. Many people think they can tell when food is done
simply by checking its color and texture, but there's no way to be
sure food is safely cooked without using a food thermometer,"
says Delbridge. "Show kids how to use and read a food thermometer.
And make sure kids know not to taste food until it's done.
One of the most tempting foods for kids to eat is raw cookie dough,
which is dangerous to eat when raw. So have kids take the Cookie Rookie pledge."
4)  Refrigerate: Cool foods promptly - always within two hours.
"Cooling foods slows the growth of harmful bacteria, so in order to
keep food safe, all perishable foods must be refrigerated within two
hours of preparation," says Delbridge. "Lead by example by quickly
 refrigerating perishable foods and explaining to kids the importance
 of the refrigerator in stopping the growth of illness-causing bacteria."
Children and families can learn more about these four easy steps with
games, activity sheets, articles and more on the Kids section of
 HomeFoodSafety.org. For additional information on safely
handling food at home and reducing the risk of food poisoning,
 visit www.HomeFoodSafety.org.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods' Home
 Food Safety program is dedicated to raising consumer awareness
 about the seriousness of food poisoning and providing solutions
 for easily and safely handling food in their own kitchens.
 More information can be found at www.HomeFoodSafety.org. 
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest
organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is
committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the
profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.
Visit the Academy at www.eatright.org.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's
largest food makers with branded and private branded foods found
99 percent of America's households, as well as a strong commercial
 foods business serving restaurants and foodservice operations
 globally. Consumers can find recognized brands such as
Egg Beaters^®, Healthy Choice^®, Hunt's^®, Marie Callender's^®, 
Orville Redenbacher's^®, and many other ConAgra Foods brands,
along with food sold by ConAgra Foods under private brand labels,
in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club stores and drugstores.
ConAgra Foods also has a strong commercial foods presence,
supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as
other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to a variety of
 well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers.
For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.